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SAMPLE CONTENT • NOT FOR SALE

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“Then he said to me,‘These words are faithful and true.’”

Revelation 22:6a

Christian Standard Bible

1. Introduction to the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) Translation

2. The Award Winning Tools of our CSB Study Bible

3. Available covers, ISBN and List Price Information

4. Genesis Sample (Intro-Chp 13)

5. Philippians Sample (Entire Book)

CONTENTS

FAITHFUL and TRUE

These words describe God’s Word (Revelation 22:6). They also describe the heartbeat of pastoral ministry. As a pastor, you want to be “faithful” and “true” to the Word that reveals God’s character and transforms lives.

At LifeWay, we share your commitment to God’s Word, and that is why we are delighted to present you with the CSB Study Bible, which includes thousands of notes, articles, and features to help Bible readers understand and share the Word of God.

As a translation, the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) combines accuracy and readability, without compromise. It was developed by a team of top biblical scholars from a variety of denominations. As you will see, they have prepared a translation that is both highly literal to the original languages and highly readable, achieving an optimal balance of the two.

As a pastor, I have grown confident in the CSB’s accuracy and precision. It is a text I can use for sermon preparation and serious Bible study. I am also confident in the CSB’s readability. Because it is clear and easy to read, I can share it with people who are new to the Word of God as well as with those who are already regular Bible readers.

As a study Bible, this resource draws from renowned biblical scholars from multiple denominations. The study notes and articles provide helps for the student of God’s Word who desires to understand more of the Bible’s original context and apply the Bible’s truths in today’s world.

Our hope is that God’s Word, delivered through this excellent translation and with these helpful study notes, will encourage and challenge you.

TREVIN WAX, PH.D.Bible and Reference PublisherLifeWay Christian Resources, Nashville, TN

Learn more at CSBible.com

Introducing the CHRISTIANSTANDARDBIBLE

Faithful and True: These words remind us that God’s Word reveals His character and will to us, transforms our lives, and leaves us in awe of His glory. At LifeWay, we strive to be faithful and true to the Word of God in all that we do, and we know that God is faithful and true to guide us as we publish biblical resources for life.

We are excited to introduce you to the Christian Standard Bible (CSB). Throughout its history, the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) has held fi rm in its commitment to combine strong biblical scholarship with a translation fi t for modern readers. Continuing this commitment to scholarship and readability, the Christian Standard Bible is now positioned to serve more people and churches than ever before.

For the most up to date news on CSB, visit CSBible.com

BIBLE TRANSLATION CONTINUUM

2

OPTIMAL EQUIVALENCE—A BEAUTIFUL BALANCE

The CSB was created using Optimal Equivalence, a translation philosophy that balances contemporary English readability with linguistic precision of the original languages. In the many places throughout Scripture where a word-for-word rendering is clearly understandable, a literal translation is used. When a word-for-word rendering might obscure the meaning for a modern audience, a more dynamic translation is used. This process assures that both the words and thoughts contained in the original text are conveyed as accurately as possible for today’s readers.

On one hand, the CSB provides a highly accurate text for faithful sermon preparation and serious study, translated straight from the biblical languages by scholars who love God’s Word. It is highly faithful to the original text. On the other hand, it does not compromise readability and clarity for those who may be less familiar with the traditional (and sometimes di� cult) vocabulary retained in some translations of the Bible.

Beyond that, we know that the good news of the Bible is meant to be shared. A translation that hits the sweet spot between fi delity and readability opens the door for every believer to share the Bible with someone who has read it for a lifetime, or with someone who has never before read its life-changing message.


FORMALWORD FOR WORD

DYNAMICTHOUGHT FOR THOUGHT

INTERLINEAR KJV NIV CEB MSGCSB

ESVNASB NKJV NRSV NLT LB

DYNAMIC THOUGHT FOR THOUGHT

FORMAL WORD

FOR WORD

GNT


Bible translations shown in the top half of the graph are original translations directly from ancient texts to English.

Those below the line are revisions of earlier English translations.

Bible translations shown in the top half of the chart are original translations directly from ancient languages to English. Versions shown below the line began with the English text of another Bible translation.

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INTRODUCTION TOGEN E SISThe book of Genesis is the great book of beginnings in the Bible. True to the meanings of its Hebrew and Greek names (Hb bere’shith, “In Beginning” [based on 1:1]; Gk Geneseos, “Of Birth” [based on 2:4]), Genesis permits us to view the beginning of a multitude of realities that shape our daily existence: the creation of the universe and the planet earth; the origins of plant and animal life; and the origins of human beings, marriage, families, nations, industry, artistic expression, religious ritual, prophecy, sin, law, crime, conflict, punishment, and death.

A caravan of camels casts a long shadow in the desert.

01_Gen.indd 1 28/10/16 12.39

AWARDWINNINGSTUDY TOOLS

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GEN E SIS

beginnings in the Bible. True to the meanings of its Hebrew and Greek names (Hb Beginning” [based on 1:1]; Gk [based on 2:4]), Genesis permits us to view the beginning of a multitude of realities that shape our

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 2

CIRCUMSTANCES OF WRITINGAUTHOR: Since pre-Christian times authorship of the Torah, the five books that include the book of Genesis, has been attributed to Moses, an enormously influential Israelite leader from the second millennium BC with an aristocratic Egyptian background. Even though Genesis is technically anonymous, both the Old and New Tes-taments unanimously recognize Moses as the Torah’s author (Jos 8:35; 23:6; 1Kg 2:3; 8:9; 2Kg 14:6; 23:25; 2Ch 23:18; 25:4; 30:16; 34:14; 35:12; Ezr 3:2; 6:18; Neh 8:1; 9:14; Dn 9:11,13; Mal 4:4; Mk 12:19,26; Lk 2:22; 20:28; 24:44; Jn 1:17,45; 7:19; Ac 13:39; 15:21; 28:23; Rm 10:5; 1Co 9:9; Heb 10:28). At the same time, evidence in Gen-esis suggests that minor editorial changes dating to an-cient times have been inserted into the text. Examples include the mention of “Dan” (14:14), a city that was not named until the days of the judges (Jdg 18:29), and the use of a phrase that assumed the existence of Israelite kings (Gn 36:31).

BACKGROUND: The Torah (a Hebrew term for “law” or “in-struction) was seen as one unit until at least the second century BC. Sometime prior to the birth of Christ, the To-rah was divided into five separate books, later referred to as the Pentateuch (literally, five vessels). Genesis, the first book of the Torah, provides both the universal his-tory of humankind and the patriarchal history of the na-tion of Israel. The first section (chaps. 1–11) is a general history commonly called the “primeval history,” show-ing how all humanity descended from one couple and became sinners. The second section (chaps. 12–50) is a more specific history commonly referred to as the “pa-triarchal history,” focusing on the covenant God made with Abraham and his descendants: Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob’s 12 sons. Genesis unfolds God’s plan to bless and redeem humanity through Abraham’s descendants. The book concludes with the events that led to the Israelites being in the land of Egypt.

MESSAGE AND PURPOSECREATION: God is the sovereign Lord and Creator of all things. God created everything out of nothing. No preexistent material existed. He is the Creator, not a cra� sman. This indicates that he has infinite power and perfect control over everything. He is separate from the

created order, and no part of creation is to be consid-ered an extension of God. All that God created is good, because he is a good and majestic God. God is Lord, maintaining sovereignty and involvement with his cre-ation. God’s control over human history is so complete that even the worst of human deeds can be turned to serve his benevolent purposes (50:20).

HUMAN LIFE: Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, unique from the rest of creation, to have fellow-ship with him. Humans are a paradox. On the one hand, people are the capstone of all God’s creation, created in God’s image (1:26-27) and possessing Godlike authority over all the created order within their realm (1:28-29; 9:1-3). On the other hand, they are sinners—beings who have used their God-given resources and abilities in ways that violate God’s laws (2:17; 3:6) and hurt oth-er people (3:8-11; 6:5,11-12). Even so, during their life-time God expects people to follow his laws (4:7), and he blesses those who live according to his ways (6:8-9; 39:2,21). God wants to work through individuals to bring a blessing to every human life (18:18; 22:18; 26:4). Nev-ertheless, Genesis teaches that because of sin all human beings must die (2:17; 3:19; 5:5,8,11). Since all human life is created in the image of God, no person or class of humans is superior to others. Humanity was created to live in community. The most fundamental unit of com-munity is the family: a husband (male) and wife (female) with children.

SIN: Evil and sin did not originate with God. Adam and Eve were created innocent and with the capacity to make choices. Sin entered the world at a specific place and time in history. Adam and Eve chose freely to dis-obey God, fell from innocence, and lost their freedom. Their sinful nature has passed to every other human being. Sin resulted in death, both physical and spiritual. Sin has led to a world of pain and struggle.

COVENANT: Genesis is a narrative of relationships, and certainly relationships grounded in covenants with God. These covenants provide a unifying principle for under-standing the whole of Scripture and define the relation-ship between God and man. The heart of that relationship is found in the phrase, “They will be my people, and I will

2100 BC 2000 BC

Job 2100?–1900? Abraham 2166–1991 Isaac 2066–1886 Jacob 2006–1859

12TH DYNASTY OF EGYPT 1991–178611TH DYNASTY OF EGYPT 2134–1991

Abraham moves from Haran to Canaan. 2091Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah 2085God’s covenant with Abraham 2081?Earliest pottery in South America 2200Construction of Ziggurat at Ur in Sumer 2100

Contraceptives are developed in Egypt. 2000Chinese create first zoo, Park of Intelligence. 2000Babylonians and Egyptians divide days into hours, minutes,

and seconds. 2000Mesopotamians learn to solve quadratic equations. 2000Code of medical ethics, Mesopotamia 2000Courier systems of communication are developed in both

China and Egypt. 2000

3RD DYNASTY OF UR 3RD DYNASTY OF UR 2113–2006

01_Gen.indd 2 28/10/16 12.39

INTRODUCTION TO GENESISThe book of Genesis is the great book of beginnings in the Bible. True to the meanings of The book of Genesis is the great book of beginnings in the Bible. True to the meanings of

66 INTRODUCTIONS

55 MAPS

The CSB Study Bible o� ers an updated edition of the award-winning Holman study system, which includes exclusive features including over 16,000 study notes, tools, word studies, and articles from respected Bible scholars. The result is a study Bible that helps the reader better understand and apply the life-transforming message of God’s written Word. Exclusive features include: Detailed book introductions and outlines, concordance, center-column cross-references, smyth-sewn binding, presentation section, two-column text and topical subheadings, as well as;

The CSB Study Bible features the highly reliable, highly readable text of the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), which stays as literal as possible to the Bible’s original meaning without sacrifi cing clarity. The CSB’s optimal blend of accuracy and readability makes Scripture more moving, more memorable, and more motivating to read and share with others.

21 Illustrations/Reconstructions44 Paintings94 Photographs

19 Charts61 Timelines34 Articles

16,124 Study Notes368 Word Studies 55 Maps

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² Ja pheth’s sons: a Go mer, Ma gog, Mad ai, Ja van, Tu bal, Me shech, and Ti ras. ³ Go mer’s sons: Ash ke naz, Ri phath, and To gar mah. ⁴ And Ja van’s sons: Eli shah, Tar shish, b Kit-tim, and Dodanim. A ⁵ From these de scen-dants, the peo ples of the coasts and is lands spread out into their lands ac cord ing to their clans in their na tions, each with its own lan guage.

⁶ Ham’s sons: c Cush, Miz ra im, Put, and Ca-naan. ⁷ Cush’s sons: Seba, Hav i lah, Sab tah, Ra a mah, and Sab te ca. And Ra a mah’s sons: She ba and De dan.

⁸ Cush fa thered Nim rod, who be gan to be pow er ful in the land. ⁹ He was a pow er ful hunt-er in the sight of the L ORD. That is why it is said, “ Like Nim rod, a pow er ful hunt er in the sight of the L ORD.” ¹⁰ His king dom start ed with Bab ylon, d Erech, B Ac cad, C and Cal neh, D in the land of Shi nar. E,e ¹¹ From that land he went to As syr ia f and built Nin e veh, Re ho both-ir, Ca-lah, ¹² and Re sen, be tween Nin e veh and the great city Ca lah.

¹³ Miz ra im F,g fa thered the peo ple of Lud, Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh, ¹⁴ Pathrus, Casluh ( the Phi lis tines came from them), and Caph tor. h

a 10:2-5 1Ch 1:5-7; Ezk 38:1-6

b 10:4 1Kg 10:22; Is 2:16

c 10:6-7 1Ch 1:8-10d 10:10 Gn 11:9e Gn 11:2; 14:1f 10:11 Mc 5:6g 10:13-18 1Ch 1:11-16

h 10:14 Jr 47:4; Am 9:7

A 10:4 Some Hb mss, Sam, LXX read Rodanim ; 1Ch 1:7 B 10:10 Or Uruk C 10:10 Or Akkad D 10:10 Or and all of them E 10:10 Or in Babylonia F 10:13 = Egypt

languages, nations, and lands (vv. 5,20,31; cp. Rv 14:6). Thus some of the names refer to the regions where that person’s descendants set-tled; some refer to people groups.10:2-5 Fourteen of Japheth’s descendants are listed here. Peoples of the coasts and is-lands refers to people living in areas reachable by ship, especially in the Mediterranean basin. The fact that each group had its own language suggests that this listing refers to the situation a�er the Tower of Babylon event (11:1-9).10:6-7 Thirty of Ham’s descendants are in-cluded in this list. The geographic or ethnic identifications of most of the names have

been lost in history, but they are associated with regions in Africa and Arabia. Mizraim is the Hebrew word for Egypt. Havilah probably refers to a di�erent geographic region than the Havilah of 2:11. Two di�erent persons by the name of Sheba are listed in Genesis genealo-gies (v. 28; 25:3); Dedan is also found in 25:3. It is best to understand each of these as di�erent persons, and the founders of di�erent people groups.10:8-12 Nimrod . . . began to be powerful in the land, that is, he was successful as an aggressive empire builder. Like many other ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian kings,

he was also famous as a powerful hunter. Nimrod’s origins are from Cush, that is, Afri-ca; his empire was Asian, stretching across the Tigris-Euphrates river basin. The order of place names suggests that Nimrod’s empire expanded from south to north, and included Babylon and Nineveh, the capital cities of two of Israel’s most formidable future enemies. Shinar corresponds to the ancient regions of Sumer and Accad; Erech to ancient Uruk; Calah to Nimrod; Rehoboth-ir may be ancient Asshur.10:15-20 The most complex portion of the Hamite list is the Canaan branch, with eleven

Akkad

Babylon Erech

NinevehCalah

Arpachshad

Tigris

R. Euphrates

R.

Nile

R.

LakeUrmia

LakeVanAEGEAN

SEA

M E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A

R E D

S E A

ARABIAN SEA

PERSIANGULF

CASPIANSEA

BLACKSEA

LibyanPlateau

QattaraDepression

SinaiAn-Nafud

Desert

S y r o -

A r a b i a n

D e s e r t

S a h a r a D e s e r t

Asia Minor

Anatolian Plateau

Pontus

Elburz Mts.

Great Salt DesertZagros M

ountains

Plateauof

Iran

Taurus

Mts.

Areaenlarged

below

LUD

EBERPELEG

ASSHURARAM

MASHELAM

HAVILAH

SHELEPH

UZAL

OBA

L

OPHIR

HAZARMAVETH

JOKTAN

UZ

HULJO

BAB

CAPHTORIM

LEHABIMPUT

CUSH

DEDAN

PATHRUSIM

RAAMAH

SEBA

CA

NA

AN

HETH

SHINAR

HAMATHITES

NAPHTUHIM

HAVILAH

SHEBA

SABTAH

LUDIM

CASLUHIM

MIZR

AIM

MESHECH

RHODANIM

ELISHAHKITTIM

TIRAS

TARSHISH

JAVA

N

MAGOG GOMERRIPHATH

MADAI

ASHKENAZ

TOGARMAHTUBAL

H A M

S H E M

J A P H E T H

10 E 20 E 30 E 40 E 50 E

30 N

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50 E40 E30 E20 E

30 N

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0 400 Miles

0 400 Kilometers

200

200

THE TABLE OF NATIONS

City

City (uncertain location)

Descendants of Japheth

Descendants of Ham

Descendants of Shem

PUT

UZAL

LUD

Genesis 10

ARVADITESZEMARITES

ARKITESSINITES

SIDONIANSAMORITESPERIZZITESHITTITESHIVITES

JEBUSITESGIRGASHITES

CA

NA

AN

Entire inset area dominated by

the descendantsof Ham

The Table of Nations shows that the Bible is firmly based on historical events. It provides the historical context for understanding Abraham, whose family became a nation through whom God would bless all peoples of the earth.

24GENESIS 10:2

01_Gen.indd 24 28/10/16 12.39

TARSHISH

TARSHISH

TARSHISH

TARSHISH

TARSHISH

TARSHISH

10 E 20 E

40 N

the night. They will serve as signs a for sea sons A and for days and years. b ¹⁵ They will be lights in the ex panse of the sky to pro vide light on the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights — the great er light to rule over the day and the less er light to rule over the night — as well as the stars. c ¹⁷ God placed them in the ex panse of the sky to pro vide light on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule the day and the night, and to sep a rate light from dark ness. d And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ Eve ning came and then morn ing: the fourth day.

²⁰ Then God said, “ Let the wa ter swarm with B liv ing crea tures, and let birds fly above the earth across the ex panse of the sky.” ²¹ So God cre at ed the large sea-creatures C and ev ery liv-ing crea ture that moves and swarms in the wa-ter, e ac cord ing to their kinds. He also cre at ed ev ery winged crea ture ac cord ing to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them: “ Be fruit ful, mul ti ply, and fill the wa ters of the seas, and let the birds mul ti ply on the

earth.” f ²³ Eve ning came and then morn ing: the fifth day.

²⁴ Then God said, “ Let the earth pro duce liv-ing crea tures ac cord ing to their kinds: live-stock, crea tures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth ac cord ing to their kinds.” And it was so. ²⁵ So God made the wildlife of the earth ac cord ing to their kinds, the live stock ac cord ing to their kinds, and all the crea tures that crawl on the ground ac cord ing to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “ Let us g make man D in E our im age, ac cord ing to our like ness. h They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the live stock, the whole earth, F and the crea tures that crawl G on the earth.” i

²⁷ So God created man in his own image; he created him in H the image of God; he created them male and female. j²⁸ God blessed them, and God said to them, “ Be fruit ful, mul ti ply, fill the earth, k and sub due it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky,

a 1:14 Jr 10:2b Ps 104:19c 1:16 Dt 4:19; Ps 136:7-9; Is 40:26

d 1:18 Jr 31:35e 1:21 Ps 104:25-28f 1:22 Gn 8:17; 9:1g 1:26 Gn 3:22; 11:7h Gn 5:1,3; 9:6; Rm 8:29; 1Co 11:7; 15:49; 2Co 3:18; 4:4; Eph 4:24; Col 1:15; Jms 3:9

i Gn 9:2; Ps 8:6-8; Jms 3:7

j 1:27 Gn 5:2; Mt 19:4; Mk 10:6

k 1:28 Gn 9:1,7

A 1:14 Or for the appointed times B 1:20 Lit with swarms of C 1:21 Or created sea monsters D 1:26 Or human beings ; Hb ‘adam, also in v. 27 E 1:26 Or as F 1:26 Syr reads sky, and over every animal of the land G 1:26 Or scurry H 1:27 Or man as his own image; he created him as

“light-giving objects,” were worshiped as gods in the cultures that surrounded ancient Israel. In Genesis, however, the sun, moon, and stars are portrayed as servants of God that would fulfill three roles: separating the newly creat-ed realms of day and night; marking time so that those who worshiped the Creator could keep their festivals in each of the seasons (cp. Lv 23:4,44); and providing light on the earth.1:16-19

 

Compared to the elaborate worship that all the other ancient nations give to the sun, moon, and stars, the simplicity of God’s creative word is striking. They are purely inan-imate objects created and ruled by God.1:20

 

The fi�h day’s events complement those of day two, filling the newly formed heavenly domains above and the watery regions below.1:21

 

The reuse of the verb created (Hb bara’; cp. v. 1) emphasizes God’s authority over the large sea-creatures. This point was especial-ly significant to the ancient Israel-ites, whose neighbors worshiped Rahab, a mythical sea monster.1:22-23 The first of three bless-ings God pronounced in the cre-ation narrative occurred when God blessed the water animals and birds. This blessing is similar to the one for people, but lacks the commands to “subdue” and “rule” (v. 28).1:24-25 The term living creatures in vv. 20 and 24 is the same as is translated “living being” in 2:7. The sixth day is for creating land creatures, including people. The three groups of animals are do-mesticated livestock, crawlers, and wild animals.1:26 God’s use of plural pronouns (us . . . our . . . our) to refer to him-self has raised many questions

(3:22; 11:7; Is 6:8). At least five di�erent sug-gestions have been put forward to explain them: they may be references to (1) the Trinity; (2) God and his angels; (3) God and creation; (4) God’s majesty as expressed by a literary device known as the “plural of majes-ty”; or (5) a polytheistic view of God. Since the Bible teaches elsewhere that there is only one God (Dt 6:4; Mk 12:29; 1Co 8:4), the fi�h option is not tenable.

The two Hebrew words translated as im-age and likeness are often understood as having the same meaning. But some inter-preters suggest that “image” refers to the ability to reason, with “likeness” referring to the spiritual dimension. What exactly is the “image” of God? Since the Bible teaches that God is Spirit (Jn 4:24), many commentators believe it refers to the non-material aspects of a person—our moral sensibilities, intellectual

abilities, will, and emotions. Based on God’s commands in Gn 1:28, others have suggested that it consists of the role humans are to play on earth—their rulership over the planet and its resources, and secondarily the physical, mental, and spiritual abilities that enable them to fulfill that role. The NT teaches that Christians will someday bear the image of Christ (1Co 15:49; 1Jn 3:2).1:27 The creation of humanity is the crown-ing event of chap. 1, as shown by the fact that created is repeated three times. The verb cre-ated (Hb bara’) is the same one used in 1:1, referring to a kind of creative activity that only God can do. The term man (Hb ’adam) is used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible to refer to humanity in general, not just males (7:21); all people, both male and female, are created in the image of God (cp. Jms 3:9). It should not be concluded that God is both male and

female. Christians are generally agreed that God does not have a literal physical body. He is in no way limited by space but is every-where fully present (Ps 139:7-10; Ac 17:28). Therefore, he cannot be said to be literally either male or female, or both. People are the only beings that are created in the image of God (Gn 9:3-6). The Bible never lumps people into the category of animals. Instead, it separates the creation of peo-ple from all other beings and at-tributes the most privileged roles in creation to humans alone.1:28 In this the longest of the five blessings found in the account of creation, God gave humanity five di�erent commands. Implic-it in the first three commands is God’s blessing on the institu-

yomHebrew pronunciation [YOHM]CSB translation day, timeUses in Genesis 152Uses in the OT 2,301Focus passage Genesis 1:5,8,13-14,16,18-19,23,31

Yom means day, the Hebrew day lasting from one evening to the next (Gn 1:5). Yom describes a working day (Ex 20:9) or day of the month (Zch 1:7). It indicates a time (Pr 24:10) or occasion (Nm 10:10). In the day o�en appears as when (Zch 8:9). The plural can represent age (Jb 32:7), lifetime (Jos 24:31), or reign (Is 1:1). The plural denotes a number of days (Neh 1:4), a time period (Lv 25:8), some time (Gn 40:4), a year (Lv 25:29), or years (Ex 2:11). With the definite article yom suggests today (Dt 4:39), now (Neh 1:6), whenever (1Sm 1:4), one day (Jb 1:6), or by day (Neh 4:22). Yom could characterize a particular event such as the day of Jezreel (Hs 1:11). Similarly, the Day/day of Yahweh, or the LORD, is a time or day that belongs to the Lord in a special way (Zph 1:14).

6GENESIS 1:15

01_Gen.indd 6 28/10/16 12.39

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365 WORD STUDIES

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5

¹⁷ But the L ORD struck Pha raoh and his house hold with se vere plagues be cause of Abram’s wife Sa rai. a ¹⁸ So Pha raoh sent for Abram and said, “ What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘ She’s my sis ter,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go! ” ²⁰ Then Pha raoh gave his men or ders about him, and they sent him away with his wife and all he had.

ABRAM AND LOT SEPARATE

13 Abram went up from Egypt to the Ne-gev b — he, his wife, and all he had,

and Lot with him. ² Abram was very rich in

live stock, sil ver, and gold. ³ He went by stages from the Ne gev to Beth el, to the place be-tween Beth el and Ai where his tent had for-mer ly been, ⁴ to the site where he had built the al tar. And Abram called on the name of the L ORD there. c

⁵ Now Lot, who was trav el ing with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. ⁶ But the land was un able to sup port them as long as they stayed to geth er, for they had so many pos ses-sions that they could not stay to geth er, d ⁷ and there was quar rel ing be tween the herds men of Abram’s live stock and the herds men of Lot’s live stock. e ( At that time the Ca naan ites and the Per iz zites were liv ing in the land.) f

a 12:17 Gn 20:18; 1Ch 16:21; Ps 105:14

b 13:1 Gn 12:9c 13:4 Gn 12:7,8d 13:6 Gn 36:7e 13:7 Gn 26:20f Gn 12:6; 15:20-21

Abram would later use one of the female slaves in his group to produce a son (16:1-4,15).12:17 If Abram’s wife Sarai remained in Egypt as part of Pharaoh’s harem, then God’s plan to provide Abram with an heir through her would never be fulfilled. To restore Sarai to Abram and bring the founders of the Israelite nation out of Egypt and back to the promised land, the LORD struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues. This act foreshadowed what God would do in Moses’s day to bring the Israelites out of Egypt again (Ex 12:29), to take them to the promised land.12:18 Pharaoh connected the plagues with Sarai’s entrance into his harem. An investi-

gation revealed that he had been tricked into marrying a woman who was the wife of an-other man.12:19-20 Even as Pharaoh gave . . . orders and sent Abram, the first Israelite, away and all he had, so a later Pharaoh would order the Israelites in Moses’s day to leave Egypt (Ex 12:31-32) with all their belongings.13:1 Having been forced to go out from Egypt, Abram returned to the Negev, the last place he had lived in the promised land (12:9) be-fore his departure to Africa.13:2-3 Abram moved northward to Bethel, an area of Canaan with greater rainfall—and thus more vegetation—than the Negev. This move was probably necessary in order to

feed the large flocks of Abram and his neph-ew Lot.13:4 Abram’s physical return to the place where God first spoke to him in the promised land was paralleled by a spiritual recommit-ment of his life to God. For the first time since he le� Canaan for Egypt, Abram called on the name of the LORD.13:5-6 Especially during the dry summer months, the land around Bethel and Ai was too dry for such a large number of flocks and people. To remain in the area, Abram and Lot would have to separate.13:7 With limited natural resources, quarrel-ing between Abram’s and Lot’s . . . herdsmen was inevitable.

29 GENESIS 13:7

Paintings from the tomb of Knumhotep found in the noblemen cemetery of Beni-Hasan, a village on the east bank of the Nile River about 130 miles south of Cairo. The paintings date from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (ca 1099 BC) and show a group of 37 Asiatics as they enter Egypt. This painting provides us with an idea of how Abraham might have dressed.

01_Gen.indd 29 28/10/16 12.39

21 ILLUSTRATIONS/RECONSTRUCTIONS

A reconstruction of the ark Noah built. The dimensions of the ark made it eminently seaworthy. The vessel in the Epic of Gilgamesh, an account of a flood that has some parallels to Noah’s, is a cube. Such a vessel would have rolled over at the slightest disturbance.

in it. Ev ery thing on earth will per ish. ¹⁸ But I will es tab lish my cov enant with you, a and you will en ter the ark with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives. ¹⁹ You are also to bring into the ark two of all the liv ing crea-tures, male and fe male, to keep them alive with you. ²⁰ Two of ev ery thing — from the birds ac cord ing to their kinds, from the live-stock ac cord ing to their kinds, and from the an i mals that crawl on the ground ac cord ing to their kinds — will come to you so that you can keep them alive. ²¹ Take with you ev ery kind of food that is eat en; gath er it as food for you and for them.” ²² And Noah did this.

He did ev ery thing that God had com mand-ed him. b

ENTERING THE ARK

7 Then the L ORD said to Noah, “En ter the ark, you and all your house hold, for I have

seen that you alone are righ teous be fore me in this gen er a tion. c ² You are to take with you sev en pairs, a male and its fe male, of all the clean an i mals, d and two of the an i-mals that are not clean, a male and its fe-male, ³ and sev en pairs, male and fe male, of the birds of the sky — in or der to keep off-spring alive through out the earth. ⁴ Sev en

a 6:18 Gn 9:9-16; 17:7b 6:22 Gn 7:5c 7:1 Mt 24:38-39; Lk 17:26-27; Heb 11:7

d 7:2 Gn 8:20; Lv 11:1-31; Dt 14:3-20

the persons on Noah’s ark, but did not need to cover the whole globe to do so, since the flood of Noah occurred before the dispersion of the nations in Gn 10.6:18 The term covenant refers to a binding, formal agreement between two parties—a sort of treaty, pact, or contract.6:19 God’s preservation of Noah meant that earth and humanity would still need the ecological support network of animals. Con-sequently, Noah was to bring into the ark one male and one female of all the living creatures. Representatives of all vulnerable species were to be preserved.6:20-21 Noah would not have to go on safaris to collect the various animals. They would come to him so he could keep them alive. On at least three other occasions in the Bible God directed animals to go to people (Ex 16:13; Nm 11:31; 1Kg 17:2-6).

6:22 As other heroic men of the Bible would do in later times—Moses and Aaron (Ex 7:6), Aaron’s sons (Lv 8:36), Joshua (Jos 11:9), Gideon (Jdg 6:27), Samuel (1Sm 16:4), Da-vid (2Sm 5:25), and Elijah (1Kg 17:5)—Noah did everything that God had commanded him. An undetermined amount of time had passed between this verse and the previ-ous verses in this chapter. Certainly the construction of the ark would have been a lengthy endeavor.7:1 Following the ark’s completion, the LORD gave Noah the order to begin the complex process of boarding the craft. Because of Noah’s righteous walk with God he and his household would be saved. The concept of sparing many because of the righteousness of a few occurs elsewhere in the Bible (18:24-32).7:2-3 While one male and one female of ev-ery species of air and land animal were to be

taken aboard the ark, all the clean animals—both those of the land and among the birds of the sky—were to have seven pairs of males and females onboard. The concept of clean animals is explained elsewhere in the Torah (Lv 11:1-46); essentially, these were animals that were fit for human consumption and could be o�ered as sacrifices to God. On the meaning of throughout the earth, see note at 6:17.7:4 The advance warning God gave Noah here about the onset of rain was necessary, for it almost certainly would have taken sev-en days to finish boarding the ark. Loading, securing, and tending to the dietary needs of all the wild animals onboard the three-level barge-like structure was a complicated and dangerous task.

Here rain was the mechanism for the deadly act of judgment that would wipe off

17 GENESIS 7:4

01_Gen.indd 17 28/10/16 12.39

44 PAINTINGS

61 TIMELINES

6

crea ture — ac cord ing to their kinds. ¹⁵ Two of ev ery crea ture that has the breath of life in it came to Noah and en tered the ark. ¹⁶ Those that en tered, male and fe male of ev ery crea-ture, en tered just as God had com mand ed him. Then the L ORD shut him in.

¹⁷ The flood con tin ued for for ty days on the earth; the wa ter in creased and lift ed up the ark so that it rose above the earth. ¹⁸ The wa-ter surged and in creased great ly on the earth, and the ark float ed on the sur face of the wa-ter. ¹⁹ Then the wa ter surged even high er on the earth, and all the high moun tains un der the whole sky were cov ered. ²⁰ The moun tains were cov ered as the wa ter surged above them more than twen ty feet. A ²¹ Ev ery crea ture per-ished — those that crawl on the earth, birds, live stock, wildlife, and those that swarm B on the earth, as well as all man kind. ²² Ev ery-thing with the breath of the spir it of life in its nos trils a — ev ery thing on dry land died. ²³ He wiped out ev ery liv ing thing that was on the face of the earth, from man kind to live-stock, to crea tures that crawl, to the birds of the sky, and they were wiped o� the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark. b ²⁴ And the wa ter surged on the earth 150 days.

THE FLOOD RECEDES

8 God re mem bered Noah, c as well as all the wildlife and all the live stock that were

with him in the ark. God caused a wind C to pass over the earth, d and the wa ter be gan to

sub side. ² The sources of the wa tery depths and the flood gates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky stopped. e ³ The wa ter steadi ly re ced ed from the earth, and by the end of 150 days the wa ter had de creased sig-nificantly. f ⁴ The ark came to rest in the sev-enth month, on the sev en teenth day of the month, on the moun tains of Ar a rat. g

⁵ The wa ter con tin ued to re cede un til the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the moun tains were vis i ble. ⁶ Af ter for ty days Noah opened the win dow of the ark that he had made, ⁷ and he sent out a ra ven. It went back and forth un til the wa ter had dried up from the earth. ⁸ Then he sent out a dove to see wheth er the wa ter on the earth’s sur face had gone down, ⁹ but the dove found no rest ing place for its foot. It re turned to him in the ark be cause wa ter cov ered the sur face of the whole earth. He reached out and brought it into the ark to him self. ¹⁰ So Noah wait ed sev en more days and sent out the dove from the ark again. ¹¹ When the dove came to him at eve ning, there was a plucked ol ive leaf in its beak. So Noah knew that the wa ter on the earth’s sur face had gone down. ¹² Af ter he had wait-ed an oth er sev en days, he sent out the dove, but it did not re turn to him again. ¹³ In the six hun dred and first year, D in the first month, on the first day of the month, the wa ter that had cov ered the earth was dried up. Then Noah re moved the ark’s cov er and saw that the sur face of the ground was dry ing. ¹⁴ By

a 7:22 Gn 2:7b 7:23 1Pt 3:20; 2Pt 2:5

c 8:1 Gn 19:29; Ex 2:24; 1Sm 1:19; Ps 105:42

d Ex 14:21; 15:10; Jb 12:15; Ps 29:10; Is 44:27; Nah 1:4

e 8:2 Gn 7:11f 8:3 Gn 7:24g 8:4 2Kg 19:37; Is 37:38; Jr 51:27

A 7:20 Lit surged 15 cubits B 7:21 Lit all the swarming swarms C 8:1 Or spirit ; Gn 1:2 D 8:13 = of Noah’s life

7:16 Shut him in—The author gave no details to explain how God performed the supernat-ural act of shutting Noah in. This divine act highlights the truth found elsewhere in the Bi-ble: “Salvation belongs to the LORD” (Jnh 2:9).7:17-20 More than twenty feet is literally fif-teen cubits, which is about 22½ feet. For more on the scope of Noah’s flood, see note at 6:17.7:21 Through the use of expanded restate-ment the author brings the detailed account of the flood’s destruction to a climax.7:22 For dramatic e�ect a second expanded expression of the flood’s destructive e�ects im-mediately follows the one in the previous verse.7:23 The overpowering presentation of death is contrasted with Noah’s preservation.7:24 Though the text does not explicitly say so, the total of 150 days seems to include the forty days of rain (see note at v. 12). The He-brew word translated as surged emphasizes the power of the waters.8:1 Remembered does not suggest that God had ever forgotten about Noah; when used of God, “remember” suggests the initiation of a miraculous, saving act of God. Other instances of God “remembering” as the first step in pro-viding divine help for his people include his intervention in the lives of Lot (19:29), Rachel

(30:22), and the Israelites in Egypt (Ex 2:24). Using language that reflects God’s initial act of creating the universe (Gn 1:2), God caused (Hb) ruach—“Spirit” or wind—to pass over the waters of the earth. Immediately the water began to subside.8:2 Following the 150 days of ever-surging waters, a turnabout occurred: all the sourc-es of water (from above and below) stopped and the water began to subside. The initial downpour ended a�er forty days and nights (7:12), so presumably the rains that are said to have ceased in the present verse were only sporadic showers.8:3 Just as the flood had increased upon the earth for 150 days, so it steadily receded from the earth for 150 days, until the levels had de-creased significantly.8:4 Exactly five months a�er the flood had begun (7:11), the ark came to rest . . . on the mountains of Ararat—modern Turkey or Ar-menia.8:5-6 This is the only mention of a window (Hb hallon) in the ark. Noah opened the win-dow to determine the earth’s readiness to receive the ark’s cargo of people and animals.8:7 Rabbis have suggested that Noah first sent out a raven, a ritually unclean bird, be-

cause it was expendable. The fact that it went back and forth from the ark means that it could find no suitable habitat.8:8 Perhaps simultaneous with the release of the raven or soon therea�er, Noah sent out a dove. Since the dove ate seed and insects, it would provide a useful indication of whether the water on the earth’s surface had gone down.8:9 Though the ark was now resting on Ararat (v. 4) and mountaintops were visible (v. 5), the waters had not yet receded enough for the dove to find a resting place for its foot.8:10-11 When the dove returned to Noah from its second foray with an olive leaf, this con-firmed that the lower elevations (where olive trees grow) were now above water. Inspired by this passage, the image of a dove with an olive branch in its mouth has become a uni-versal symbol of peace.8:12 When Noah sent the dove out a third time and it did not return, it was clear that life-sustaining conditions now existed at the earth’s more temperate, lower elevations.8:13-14 On Noah’s six hundred and first birthday he removed the ark’s cover and confirmed what the dove had indicated—that the plains beneath the mountain range were

19 GENESIS 8:14

01_Gen.indd 19 28/10/16 12.39

days from now I will make it rain on the earth for ty days and for ty nights, and ev ery liv ing thing I have made I will wipe off the face of the earth.” ⁵ And Noah did ev ery thing that the L ORD com mand ed him. a

⁶ Noah was six hun dred years old when the flood came and wa ter cov ered the earth. ⁷ So Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives en tered the ark be cause of the flood wa ters. ⁸ From the clean an i mals, un clean an i mals, birds, and ev ery crea ture that crawls on the ground, ⁹ two of each, male and fe male, came to Noah and en tered the ark, just as God had com mand ed him. ¹⁰ Sev en days lat er the flood-wa ters came on the earth.

THE FLOOD¹¹ In the six hun dredth year of Noah’s life, in the sec ond month, on the sev en teenth day of the month, on that day all the sources of the vast wa tery depths burst open, b the flood-gates of the sky were opened, c ¹² and the rain fell on the earth for ty days and for ty nights. ¹³ On that same day Noah along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Ja pheth, Noah’s wife, and his three sons’ wives en tered the ark with him. ¹⁴ They en tered it with all the wildlife ac cord-ing to their kinds, all live stock ac cord ing to their kinds, all the crea tures that crawl on the earth ac cord ing to their kinds, ev ery fly ing crea ture — all the birds and ev ery winged

A reproduction of tablet eleven of the Epic of Gilgamesh, a Babylonian account of the great flood.

a 7:5 Gn 6:22b 7:11 Gn 8:2; Pr 8:28; Am 9:6

c 2Kg 7:19; Ps 78:23; Is 24:18; Mal 3:10

from the face of the earth . . . every living thing. Elsewhere in the OT God caused burn-ing sulfur (19:24) and hailstones (Ex 9:18,23) to “rain” from the sky as a mechanism of judgment against sinners. The rains would continue unabated for forty days and forty nights. The number forty played a signifi-cant role throughout the OT: Isaac and Esau were forty when they married (25:20; 26:34), Moses was on Mount Sinai forty days and nights receiving the law from God (Ex 24:18; 34:28; Dt 9:11,18,25), Israel spent forty years in the wilderness following their disobedi-ence (Nm 32:13), the Philistines oppressed Israel for forty years (Jdg 13:1), and several

judges and kings ruled over Israel for forty years (Othniel, Jdg 3:11; Deborah, Jdg 5:31; Gideon, Jdg 8:28; Eli, 1Sm 4:8; David, 2Sm 5:4; Solomon, 1Kg 11:42; Joash, 2Kg 12:1; Saul, Ac 13:21).7:5 This is parallel to 6:22.7:6-10 Noah’s age at the onset of the flood—six hundred years old—will be used to indi-cate the duration of the flood (8:13). No other human a�er Noah will be said to live to this age. On the scope of the flood, see note at 6:17.

Seven days later, exactly when God said it would occur, the floodwaters began.7:11 Water came from two di�erent sourc-es—one below and one above. Exactly what

is meant by all the sources of the vast watery depths is unknown; the phrase appears to re-fer to a massive outflow of pressurized water from underground sources that burst out of the ground with devastating e�ect. No known phenomenon in nature today corresponds to this description.7:12 Exactly as God had indicated (v. 4), the rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. God’s word to Noah is once again shown to be trustworthy.7:13-15 The same day Noah completed the task of loading the ark; that is, the seventh day (v. 10) a�er God’s command was given, Noah and his family entered the ark.

18GENESIS 7:5

01_Gen.indd 18 28/10/16 12.39

94 PHOTOGRAPHS

of creating the universe (Gn 1:2), God caused ruach—“Spirit” or wind—to pass over the

waters of the earth. Immediately the waterto subside.

Following the 150 days of ever-surging waters, a turnabout occurred: all the sourc-

could find no suitable habitat.8:8 Perhaps simultaneous with the release of the raven or soon therea�er, Noah dove. Since the dove ate seed and insects, it would provide a useful indication of the water on

34 EXPANDED ARTICLES

to explain how God performed the supernat-ural act of shutting Noah in. This divine act

(30:22), and the Israelites in Egypt (Ex 2:24). Using language that reflects God’s initial act of creating the universe (Gn 1:2), God caused

, a Babylonian account of the great flood.

of creating the universe (Gn 1:2), God caused









2100 BC 2000 BC








01_Gen.indd 2 28/10/16 12.39

perfect control over everything. He is separate from the

Job 2100?–1900?

61 TIMELINES

7

8

B C D

E F

A

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C 978-1-4336-4802-1 Purple LeatherTouch (Indexed) $79.99

D 978-1-4336-4803-8 Mahogany LeatherTouch $69.99

D 978-1-4336-4804-5 Mahogany LeatherTouch (Indexed) $79.99

E 978-1-4336-4952-3 Black Premium LeatherTouch $79.99

E 978-1-4336-4953-0 Black Premium LeatherTouch (Indexed) $89.99

F 978-1-4336-4807-6 Black Genuine Leather $89.99

F 978-1-4336-4808-3 Black Genuine Leather (Indexed) $99.99

G 978-1-4336-4805-2 Black Goatskin Leather $149.99

G 978-1-4336-4806-9 Black Goatskin Leather (Indexed) $159.99

978-1-4336-4811-3 eISBN $19.99

ISBN BINDING MATERIAL PRICE

G

9



01_Gen.indd 1 28/10/16 12.39



01_Gen.indd 1 28/10/16 12.39









2100 BC 2000 BC








01_Gen.indd 2 28/10/16 12.39

11

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS3

be their God” (Jr 32:38; cp. Gn 17:7-8; Ex 6:6-7; Lv 26:12; Dt 4:20; Jr 11:4; Ezk 11:20). God’s cov enant with Abraham is a major event both in Genesis and throughout the Bible. God called Abraham out of Ur to go to Canaan, promis-ing to make him a great nation that in turn would bless all nations (Gn 12:1-3). God repeats his oath in Genesis 22:18, adding further that it would be through Abraham’s o�spring (Hb zera‘ “seed”) that all nations would some-day be blessed. Paul applies the singular noun seed as a reference to Christ (Gl 3:16). It is through Christ, Abra-ham’s prophesied descendant, that the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant would come to every nation.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE BIBLEGenesis lays the groundwork for everything else we read and experience in Scripture. Through Genesis we understand where we came from, how we got in the fall-en state we are in, and the beginnings of God’s gracious work on our behalf. Genesis unfolds God’s original pur-pose for humanity.

Genesis provides the foundation from which we understand God’s covenant with Israel that was es-

tablished with the giving of the law. For the Israelite community, the stories of the origins of humanity, sin, and the covenant relationship with God helped them understand why God gave them the law.

STRUCTUREGenesis is chiefly a narrative. From a narrative stand-point, God is the only true hero of the Bible, and the book of Genesis has the distinct privilege of introducing him. God is the first subject of a verb in the book and is mentioned more frequently than any other character in the Bible. The content of the first eleven chapters is dis-tinct from the patriarchal stories in chapters 12–50. The primary literary device is the catchphrase “these are the family records.” The phrase is broader in meaning than simply “generation,” and refers more to a narrative ac-count. This was a common practice in ancient Near East writings. This phrase also serves as a link between the key person in the previous narrative and the one antici-pated in the next section. Genesis could be described as historical genealogy, which ties together creation and human history in one continuum.

Outline I. Creation of Heaven and Earth (1:1–2:3) A. Creator and creation (1:1-2) B. Six days of creation (1:3-31) C. Seventh day— day of consecration (2:1-3) II. The Human Family In and Outside the Garden

(2:4 – 4:26) A. The man and woman in the garden (2:4-25) B. The man and woman expelled from the garden

(3:1-24) C. Adam and Eve’s family outside the garden

(4:1-26) III. Adam’s Family Line (5:1–6:8) A. Introduction: Creation and blessing (5:1-2) B. “Image of God” from Adam to Noah (5:3-32) C. Conclusion: Procreation and perversion (6:1-8) IV. Noah and His Family (6:9–9:29) A. Righteous Noah and the corrupt world

(6:9-12) B. Coming judgment but the ark of promise

(6:13–7:10) C. Worldwide flood of judgment (7:11-24)

D. God’s remembrance and rescue of Noah (8:1-14)

E. Exiting the ark (8:15-19) F. Worship and the word of promise (8:20-22) G. God’s covenant with the new world (9:1-17) H. Noah’s sons and future blessing (9:18-29) V. The Nations and the Tower of Babylon

(10:1–11:26) A. Table of Nations (10:1-32) B. Tower of Babylon (11:1-9) C. Family line of Abram (11:10-26) VI. Father Abraham (11:27–25:11) A. Abram’s beginnings (11:27-32) B. The promissory call and Abram’s obedience

(12:1-9) C. Abram and Sarai in Egypt: Blessing begins

(12:10–13:1) D. Abram and Lot part: Promises recalled

(13:2-18) E. Abram rescues Lot: Abram’s faithfulness

(14:1-24)

Joseph 1915-1805

1900 BC 1800 BC

Jacob wrestles with God. 1903?Potter’s wheel is introduced to Crete. 1900Use of the sail in the Aegean 1900First Chinese city is founded at Erlitou on Yellow River. 1900Egyptian town of El Lahun gives evidence of town planning

with streets at right angles. 1900Mesopotamian mathematicians discover what later came

to be called the Pythagorean theorem. 1900

Khnumhotep II, an architect of Pharaoh Amenemhet II, develops encryption. 1900

Amorite Ascendancy 1894–1595Musical theory, Mesopotamia 1800Multiplication tables, Mesopotamia 1800Babylonians develop catalog of stars and planets. 1800Book of the Dead, Egypt 1800Horses are introduced in Egypt. 1800Wooden plows, Scandinavia 1800

01_Gen.indd 3 28/10/16 12.39


F. Covenant promises confirmed (15:1-21) G. Abram’s firstborn son, Ishmael (16:1-16) H. Covenant sign of circumcision (17:1-27) I. Divine judgment and mercy (18:1–19:38) J. Abraham and Sarah in Gerar: Promises pre-

served (20:1-18) K. Abraham’s promised son: The birth of Isaac

(21:1-21) L. Treaty with Abimelech (21:22-34) M. Abraham’s test (22:1-19) N. Family line of Rebekah (22:20-24) O. Sarah’s burial site (23:1-20) P. A wife for Isaac (24:1-67) Q. Abraham’s death and burial (25:1-11) VII. Ishmael’s Family Line (25:12-18) VIII. Isaac’s Family: Jacob and Esau (25:19–35:29) A. Struggle at birth and birthright (25:19-34) B. Isaac’s deception and strife with the Philistines

(26:1-35) C. Stolen blessing and flight to Paddan-aram

(27:1–28:9) D. Promise of blessing at Bethel (28:10-22) E. Laban deceives Jacob (29:1-30) F. Birth of Jacob’s children (29:31–30:24)

G. Birth of Jacob’s herds (30:25-43) H. Jacob deceives Laban (31:1-55) I. Struggle for blessing at Peniel (32:1-32) J. Restored gi� and return to Shechem (33:1-20) K. Dinah, deception, and strife with the Hivites

(34:1-31) L. Blessing and struggle at birth (35:1-29) IX. Esau’s Family (36:1-8) X. Esau, Father of the Edomites (36:9–37:1) XI. Jacob’s Family: Joseph and His Brothers

(37:2–50:26) A. The early days of Joseph (37:2-36) B. Judah and Tamar (38:1-30) C. Joseph in Egypt (39:1-23) D. Joseph, savior of Egypt (40:1– 41:57) E. The brothers’ journeys to Egypt (42:1– 43:34) F. Joseph tests the brothers (44:1-34) G. Joseph reveals his identity (45:1-28) H. Jacob’s migration to Egypt (46:1-27) I. Joseph, savior of the family (46:28– 47:12) J. Joseph’s administration in Egypt (47:13-31) K. Jacob’s blessings (48:1– 49:28) L. The death and burial of Jacob (49:29–50:14) M. The final days of Joseph (50:15-26)

01_Gen.indd 4 28/10/16 12.39

13

THE CREATION

1 In the be gin ning a God cre at ed the heav ens and the earth. A,b

² Now the earth was form less and emp ty, c dark ness cov ered the sur face of the wa tery depths, and the Spir it of God was hov er ing over the sur face of the wa ters. d ³ Then God said, “ Let there be light,” e and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and God sep a rat ed the light from the dark ness. ⁵ God called the light “ day,” and the dark ness he called “ night.” There was an eve ning, and there was a morn ing: one day.

⁶ Then God said, “ Let there be an ex panse be tween the wa ters, separating wa ter from wa ter.” f ⁷ So God made the ex panse and sep-a rat ed the wa ter un der the ex panse from the wa ter above the ex panse. g And it was so. ⁸ God

called the ex panse “ sky.” B Eve ning came and then morn ing: the sec ond day.

⁹ Then God said, “ Let the wa ter un der the sky be gath ered into one place, h and let the dry land ap pear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry land “ earth,” and the gath er ing of the wa ter he called “ seas.” And God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, “ Let the earth pro-duce veg e ta tion: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bear ing fruit with seed in it ac cord ing to their kinds.” i And it was so. ¹² The earth pro duced veg e ta tion: seed-bear-ing plants ac cord ing to their kinds and trees bear ing fruit with seed in it ac cord ing to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ Eve-ning came and then morn ing: the third day.

¹⁴ Then God said, “ Let there be lights in the ex panse of the sky to sep a rate the day from

a 1:1 Ps 90:2; 102:12; Is 40:21; Jn 1:1-3; Eph 3:21

b Neh 9:6; Is 40:12-14; 43:7; Jr 10:12-16; Am 4:13; Rm 1:25; 1Co 11:9; Col 1:16; Rv 4:11

c 1:2 Jr 4:23d Jb 26:13; 33:4; Ps 33:6; 104:30

e 1:3 2Co 4:6f 1:6 Is 44:24; Jr 10:12g 1:7 Ps 148:4h 1:9 Jb 38:8-11; Ps 33:7; 136:6; Jr 5:22; 2Pt 3:5

i 1:11 Ps 65:9-13; 104:14

A 1:1 Or created the universe B 1:8 Or “heavens.”

1:1

 

This opening verse of the Bible, seven words in the Hebrew, establishes seven key truths upon which the rest of the Bible is based.

First, God exists. The essential first step in pleasing God is acknowledging his existence (Heb 11:6). Second, God existed before there was a universe and will exist a er the universe perishes (Heb 1:10-12). Third, God is the main character in the Bible. He is the subject of the first verb in the Bible (in fact, he is the subject of more verbs than any other character) and performs a wider variety of activities than any other being in the Bible. Fourth, as Creator, God has done what no human could ever do; in its active form the Hebrew verb bara’, meaning “to create,” never has a human sub-ject. Thus bara’ signifies a work that is unique-ly God’s. Fi h, God is mysterious; though this particular Hebrew word for God is plural, the verb form of which “God” is the subject is singular. This is perhaps a subtle allusion to God’s Trinitarian nature: He is three divine persons in one divine essence. Sixth, God is the Creator of heaven and earth. He does not just modify preexisting matter but calls mat-ter into being out of nothing (Ps 33:6,9; Heb 11:3). Seventh, God is not dependent on the universe, but the universe is totally depen-dent on God (Heb 1:3).1:2

 

Bible translations since the time of the Septuagint, the translation of the OT into Greek (ca 175 BC), have rendered the first He-brew verb in this verse as was. However, in an e�ort to explain the origins of evil and/or find biblical evidence for an old earth, some Bible scholars have suggested that this verb should be translated as “became.” Citing portions of Is 14:12-21 and Ezk 28:12-19, they believe a time gap, possibly a vast one, exists between the first two verses of the Bible, during which Satan led a rebellion in heaven against God. This allows interpreters to suggest that the early earth became formless and empty be-cause Satan’s rebellion marred God’s good creation. However, the construction of this sentence in the original Hebrew favors the traditional translation (“was” rather than “became”).

The sense of v. 2 is that God created the earth “formless and empty” as an unfinished and unfilled state. Working through an or-derly process over a period of six days, God formed (days 1-3) and filled (days 4-6) his cre-ated handiwork. The “forming” was accom-plished by means of three acts of separating or sorting various elements of creation from one another. The “filling” was carried out through five acts of populating the newly cre-ated domains. Watery depths, a single word in Hebrew, suggests an original state of cre-ation that was shapeless as liquid water. The Hebrew verb translated was hovering, used also in Dt 32:11, suggests that the Spirit of God was watching over his creation just as a bird watches over its young.1:3

 

A foundational teaching of the Bible is that God speaks and does so with universe-chang-ing authority. The command in this verse is just two words in Hebrew.1:4

 

Another basic truth of the Bible is that God saw; this means he is fully aware of his creation. Later writers directly declared that God is aware of events occurring throughout the earth (2Ch 16:9; Zch 4:10). The term good, used here for the first of seven times in this chapter to evaluate God’s creative work, can be used to express both high quality and mor-al excellence. The physical universe is a good place because God made it. God found satis-faction in his labor. This is the first instance where God separated the twin realms of light and darkness, day and night. God’s activity in the material world parallels the role he also performs in the moral universe, that of the righteous Judge distinguishing between those who live in moral light and those who do not (1Th 5:5).1:5

 

In ancient Israel, the act of naming an ob-ject, place, or person indicated that you held control over it (35:10; 41:45; Nm 32:42; Dt 3:14; Jos 19:47; 2Kg 23:34; 24:17). When God named the light and the darkness, he asserted his lordship and control over all of time. There was an evening. In ancient Israelite and mod-ern Jewish tradition, sundown is the transi-tion point from one day to the next. Scholars

di�er over the meaning of “day” in the phrases “one day . . . the second day,” etc. Some argue for twenty-four-hour periods, but other op-tions are possible, especially since (1) there was at first no sun by which to distinguish twenty-four-hour periods, (2) “day” means the period of daylight in 1:5a, and (3) “day” refers to the whole creation period in 2:4 (“at the time” is lit “on the day”). Consequently, some scholars understand the “days” of cre-ation as extended periods of uncertain length or as a rhetorical device by which the account of creation is structured.1:6

 

Based on a verb that can refer to covering something with a thin sheet of metal (Nm 16:39; Is 40:19), the noun expanse always re-fers to the vast spread of the open sky.1:7

 

God’s second act of separation was to divide atmospheric water from terrestrial wa-ter. Thus he began the process of giving form to the material world. The clause it was so, found six times in this chapter, emphasizes God’s absolute power over creation.1:8

 

Sky can refer to the earth’s atmospheric en-velope (v. 20), outer space (v. 15), or “heaven,” the spiritual realm where God lives (Ps 11:4).1:9

 

God’s third and final act of separation cre-ated oceans and continents.1:10

 

In his third and final act of naming, God demonstrated his authority over all of the earth. This contrasts with what Israel’s poly-theistic neighbors believed about the range of divine powers. Their gods were not all-power-ful, but instead exercised authority over a lim-ited territory. The God of Gn 1 holds dominion over everything at all times and in all places.1:11-13

 

In preparation for the introduction of animal and human life, God provided an abundant supply of food. The consistent bib-lical teaching is that “like begets like” (Lk 6:44; Jms 3:12); Gn 1:11-12 establishes that princi-ple for plant life. While five of the six days con-tain at least one act of creation evaluated as good, only the third and sixth days have this statement more than once.1:14-15 The events of day four complement those of day one, filling the day and night with finished forms of light. The various lights, or

5 GENESIS 1:14

01_Gen.indd 5 28/10/16 12.39

the night. They will serve as signs a for sea sons A and for days and years. b ¹⁵ They will be lights in the ex panse of the sky to pro vide light on the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights — the great er light to rule over the day and the less er light to rule over the night — as well as the stars. c ¹⁷ God placed them in the ex panse of the sky to pro vide light on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule the day and the night, and to sep a rate light from dark ness. d And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ Eve ning came and then morn ing: the fourth day.

²⁰ Then God said, “ Let the wa ter swarm with B liv ing crea tures, and let birds fly above the earth across the ex panse of the sky.” ²¹ So God cre at ed the large sea-creatures C and ev ery liv-ing crea ture that moves and swarms in the wa-ter, e ac cord ing to their kinds. He also cre at ed ev ery winged crea ture ac cord ing to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them: “ Be fruit ful, mul ti ply, and fill the wa ters of the seas, and let the birds mul ti ply on the

earth.” f ²³ Eve ning came and then morn ing: the fifth day.

²⁴ Then God said, “ Let the earth pro duce liv-ing crea tures ac cord ing to their kinds: live-stock, crea tures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth ac cord ing to their kinds.” And it was so. ²⁵ So God made the wildlife of the earth ac cord ing to their kinds, the live stock ac cord ing to their kinds, and all the crea tures that crawl on the ground ac cord ing to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “ Let us g make man D in E our im age, ac cord ing to our like ness. h They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the live stock, the whole earth, F and the crea tures that crawl G on the earth.” i

²⁷ So God created man in his own image; he created him in H the image of God; he created them male and female. j²⁸ God blessed them, and God said to them, “ Be fruit ful, mul ti ply, fill the earth, k and sub due it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky,

a 1:14 Jr 10:2b Ps 104:19c 1:16 Dt 4:19; Ps 136:7-9; Is 40:26

d 1:18 Jr 31:35e 1:21 Ps 104:25-28f 1:22 Gn 8:17; 9:1g 1:26 Gn 3:22; 11:7h Gn 5:1,3; 9:6; Rm 8:29; 1Co 11:7; 15:49; 2Co 3:18; 4:4; Eph 4:24; Col 1:15; Jms 3:9

i Gn 9:2; Ps 8:6-8; Jms 3:7

j 1:27 Gn 5:2; Mt 19:4; Mk 10:6

k 1:28 Gn 9:1,7

A 1:14 Or for the appointed times B 1:20 Lit with swarms of C 1:21 Or created sea monsters D 1:26 Or human beings ; Hb ‘adam, also in v. 27 E 1:26 Or as F 1:26 Syr reads sky, and over every animal of the land G 1:26 Or scurry H 1:27 Or man as his own image; he created him as

“light-giving objects,” were worshiped as gods in the cultures that surrounded ancient Israel. In Genesis, however, the sun, moon, and stars are portrayed as servants of God that would fulfill three roles: separating the newly creat-ed realms of day and night; marking time so that those who worshiped the Creator could keep their festivals in each of the seasons (cp. Lv 23:4,44); and providing light on the earth.1:16-19

 

Compared to the elaborate worship that all the other ancient nations give to the sun, moon, and stars, the simplicity of God’s creative word is striking. They are purely inan-imate objects created and ruled by God.1:20

 

The fi�h day’s events complement those of day two, filling the newly formed heavenly domains above and the watery regions below.1:21

 

The reuse of the verb created (Hb bara’; cp. v. 1) emphasizes God’s authority over the large sea-creatures. This point was especial-ly significant to the ancient Israel-ites, whose neighbors worshiped Rahab, a mythical sea monster.1:22-23 The first of three bless-ings God pronounced in the cre-ation narrative occurred when God blessed the water animals and birds. This blessing is similar to the one for people, but lacks the commands to “subdue” and “rule” (v. 28).1:24-25 The term living creatures in vv. 20 and 24 is the same as is translated “living being” in 2:7. The sixth day is for creating land creatures, including people. The three groups of animals are do-mesticated livestock, crawlers, and wild animals.1:26 God’s use of plural pronouns (us . . . our . . . our) to refer to him-self has raised many questions

(3:22; 11:7; Is 6:8). At least five di�erent sug-gestions have been put forward to explain them: they may be references to (1) the Trinity; (2) God and his angels; (3) God and creation; (4) God’s majesty as expressed by a literary device known as the “plural of majes-ty”; or (5) a polytheistic view of God. Since the Bible teaches elsewhere that there is only one God (Dt 6:4; Mk 12:29; 1Co 8:4), the fi�h option is not tenable.

The two Hebrew words translated as im-age and likeness are often understood as having the same meaning. But some inter-preters suggest that “image” refers to the ability to reason, with “likeness” referring to the spiritual dimension. What exactly is the “image” of God? Since the Bible teaches that God is Spirit (Jn 4:24), many commentators believe it refers to the non-material aspects of a person—our moral sensibilities, intellectual

abilities, will, and emotions. Based on God’s commands in Gn 1:28, others have suggested that it consists of the role humans are to play on earth—their rulership over the planet and its resources, and secondarily the physical, mental, and spiritual abilities that enable them to fulfill that role. The NT teaches that Christians will someday bear the image of Christ (1Co 15:49; 1Jn 3:2).1:27 The creation of humanity is the crown-ing event of chap. 1, as shown by the fact that created is repeated three times. The verb cre-ated (Hb bara’) is the same one used in 1:1, referring to a kind of creative activity that only God can do. The term man (Hb ’adam) is used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible to refer to humanity in general, not just males (7:21); all people, both male and female, are created in the image of God (cp. Jms 3:9). It should not be concluded that God is both male and

female. Christians are generally agreed that God does not have a literal physical body. He is in no way limited by space but is every-where fully present (Ps 139:7-10; Ac 17:28). Therefore, he cannot be said to be literally either male or female, or both. People are the only beings that are created in the image of God (Gn 9:3-6). The Bible never lumps people into the category of animals. Instead, it separates the creation of peo-ple from all other beings and at-tributes the most privileged roles in creation to humans alone.1:28 In this the longest of the five blessings found in the account of creation, God gave humanity five di�erent commands. Implic-it in the first three commands is God’s blessing on the institu-

yomHebrew pronunciation [YOHM]CSB translation day, timeUses in Genesis 152Uses in the OT 2,301Focus passage Genesis 1:5,8,13-14,16,18-19,23,31

Yom means day, the Hebrew day lasting from one evening to the next (Gn 1:5). Yom describes a working day (Ex 20:9) or day of the month (Zch 1:7). It indicates a time (Pr 24:10) or occasion (Nm 10:10). In the day o�en appears as when (Zch 8:9). The plural can represent age (Jb 32:7), lifetime (Jos 24:31), or reign (Is 1:1). The plural denotes a number of days (Neh 1:4), a time period (Lv 25:8), some time (Gn 40:4), a year (Lv 25:29), or years (Ex 2:11). With the definite article yom suggests today (Dt 4:39), now (Neh 1:6), whenever (1Sm 1:4), one day (Jb 1:6), or by day (Neh 4:22). Yom could characterize a particular event such as the day of Jezreel (Hs 1:11). Similarly, the Day/day of Yahweh, or the LORD, is a time or day that belongs to the Lord in a special way (Zph 1:14).

6GENESIS 1:15

01_Gen.indd 6 28/10/16 12.39

15

and ev ery crea ture that crawls A on the earth.” ²⁹ God also said, “ Look, I have giv en you ev-ery seed-bearing plant on the sur face of the en tire earth and ev ery tree whose fruit con-tains seed. This will be food for you, a ³⁰ for all the wildlife of the earth, for ev ery bird of the sky, and for ev ery crea ture that crawls on the earth — ev ery thing hav ing the breath of life in it — I have giv en B ev ery green plant for food.” b And it was so. ³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good in deed. c Eve-ning came and then morn ing: the sixth day.

2 So the heav ens and the earth and ev ery thing in them were com plet ed. d ² On the sev enth C

day God had com plet ed his work that he had done, and he rest ed D on the sev enth day from all his work that he had done. e ³ God blessed the sev enth day and de clared it holy, for on it he rest ed f from all his work of cre a tion. E,g

MAN AND WOMAN IN THE GARDEN⁴ These are the rec ords h of the heav ens and the earth, con cern ing their cre a tion. At the time F that the L ORD God made the earth and

the heav ens, ⁵ no shrub of the field i had yet grown on the land, G and no plant of the field had yet sprout ed, for the L ORD God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. ⁶ But mist would come up from the earth and wa ter all the ground. ⁷ Then the L ORD God formed the man out of the dust from the ground j and breathed the breath of life into his nos trils, k and the man be came a liv ing be ing. l

⁸ The L ORD God plant ed a gar den in Eden, in the east, m and there he placed the man he had formed. ⁹ The L ORD God caused to grow out of the ground ev ery tree pleas ing in ap-pear ance and good for food, in clud ing the tree of life in the mid dle of the gar den, n as well as the tree of the knowl edge of good and evil. o

¹⁰ A riv er went H out from Eden to wa ter the gar den. From there it di vid ed and be came the source of four riv ers. I ¹¹ The name of the first is Pi shon, which flows through the en tire land of Hav i lah, J,p where there is gold. ¹² Gold from that land is pure; K bdel li um L and onyx M are also there. ¹³ The name of the sec ond riv er is

a 1:29 Gn 9:3; Ps 104:14-15; 136:25; 145:15-16

b 1:30 Ps 147:9c 1:31 1Tm 4:4d 2:1 Neh 9:6; Ps 33:6; Is 34:4; 45:12

e 2:2 Ex 20:8-11; 31:17; Dt 5:12-14; Heb 4:4

f 2:3 Ex 31:17g Ex 20:11; 31:17; Ps 121:2

h 2:4 Gn 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2

i 2:5 Gn 1:11-12j 2:7 Gn 3:19,23; 18:27; Ps 103:14; Ec 12:7; 1Co 15:47

k Gn 7:22; Jb 33:4; Is 2:22

l 1Co 15:45m 2:8 Gn 13:10; Is 51:3; Ezk 28:13; 31:8; Jl 2:3

n 2:9 Gn 3:22; Rv 2:7; 22:2,14

o Pr 3:18p 2:11 Gn 10:7,29; 25:18; 1Sm 15:7

A 1:28 Or and all scurrying animals that scurry B 1:30 I have given added for clarity C 2:2 Sam, LXX, Syr read sixth D 2:2 Or ceased, also in v. 3 E 2:3 Lit work that God created to make F 2:4 Lit creation on the day G 2:5 Or earth H 2:10 Or goes I 2:10 Lit became four heads J 2:11 Or of the Havilah K 2:12 Lit good L 2:12 A yellowish, transparent gum resin M 2:12 Identity of this precious stone uncertain

tions of marriage and the family. The final two commands, to subdue the earth and rule the animal kingdom, express God’s blessing on the use of the planet’s renewable and non-renewable natural resources. Of course, only the wise use of these resources permits peo-ple to fulfill God’s command to fill the earth. A similar command to the survivors of the flood is shorter, having only the first three verbs in it (9:1).1:29-30 The repeated use of Hebrew kol, “all, every, entire,” in vv. 29-30 shows that the point is to emphasize God’s abundant and generous provision for all his creatures, rath-er than to specify what they were or were not supposed to eat. While seed and fruit are list-ed here, Kenneth Mathews explains, “God’s dietary standards for mankind specifically include meat in the postdiluvian world” (Gn 9:3).1:31 This is the seventh, final, and most elab-orate use of the word good in the account of the seven days of creation in that it adds very to good.2:1 This verse serves as a complement to 1:1. Together, the two set the first six days of cre-ation apart from the sacred seventh day.2:2 This is the first use of the number seven in the Bible, a number that will play an especial-ly significant role in the religious and social life of ancient Israel (4:15; 7:2-4,10; 21:28-31; 29:18-20). On the seventh day God rested, thus setting an example for people—who are made in his image—to follow (Ex 20:8-11; Dt 5:12-14). Though God rested from all his work that he had done, this is not to say that God has abandoned the universe. In the NT Jesus a�irmed that God is still at work in the world,

even on the Sabbath (Jn 5:16-17). Also, God’s “rest” does not imply that he was tired. It lit-erally means “cease” and implies only that his creative work was complete.2:3 This is the only instance during the cre-ation process when God blessed a unit of time. The term holy is applied in the Bible to something set aside for service to God.2:4 The Hebrew word toledoth, translated here as records, is used eleven times in the book of Genesis to introduce new units of material (5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2). Here it introduces a detailed elaboration of some key aspects of the cre-ation account that opens the book of Genesis (1:1–2:3). Special emphasis is placed on the events of day six. Verse 4 includes the first use of God’s personal name, rendered in English as the LORD, the most commonly used noun in the OT. The Hebrew spelling is transliter-ated as “YHWH,” a word Jews considered so sacred that they would not permit themselves to pronounce it. Its accurate pronunciation is thus unknown, though common suggestions include “Jehovah” and “Yahweh.”2:5 The shrub of the field and the plant of the field are not the same as the vegetation described in Gn 1:11-12 but are the plants that will make up the Garden of Eden.2:6 This source of water, a bountiful blessing that provided moisture for all the ground in the time of human innocence, later became a source of judgment on humanity’s sin (7:11).2:7 The Hebrew verb translated here as formed is used elsewhere in the Bible to de-scribe the potter’s profession (Jr 18:4; Zch 11:13); God acts here as the divine potter, skill-fully fashioning man out of the dust from the

ground. But the Bible makes it very clear that people are more than just material beings. It was only when God breathed into the man’s nostrils the breath of life that Adam became alive. God is Spirit (Jn 4:24); thus, when God breathed into him, Adam and all later humans became a unique mix of the physical and the spiritual. The Hebrew phrase translated as liv-ing being is used elsewhere in Genesis to de-scribe other types of living beings (1:20,24,30; 9:12,15-16). Nevertheless, humans are con-sidered to be in a class by themselves since they alone are made in God’s image.2:8 The location of Eden is unknown; sug-gestions include Armenia, Iraq, Africa, and Arabia. Changes in geography caused by the flood in Noah’s day (7:11) make it unlikely that Eden will ever be discovered. The Hebrew word ‘eden literally means “pleasantness.”2:9 God’s concern for beauty is seen in the fact that the trees he caused to grow were pleas-ing in appearance. The Lord’s love of beau-ty will later be extended to Israel’s religion, which will make use of furnishings fashioned by expert cra§smen using expensive materi-als (Ex 25–40). Of course, God’s beautiful cre-ated works were also practical, being good for food.2:10 The abundance of the waters supplied in the garden of Eden is indicated by the fact that it served as the headwaters for four rivers.2:11 The location of the Pishon river is un-known. A land known as Havilah existed in the region of the Arabian peninsula at a later point in time (1Sm 15:7), but the pre-flood land may have represented a di�erent locale.2:12 The gold and gems of Eden foreshadow the splendor of the tabernacle and temple

7 GENESIS 2:13

01_Gen.indd 7 28/10/16 12.39

and ev ery crea ture that crawls A on the earth.” ²⁹ God also said, “ Look, I have giv en you ev-ery seed-bearing plant on the sur face of the en tire earth and ev ery tree whose fruit con-tains seed. This will be food for you, a ³⁰ for all the wildlife of the earth, for ev ery bird of the sky, and for ev ery crea ture that crawls on the earth — ev ery thing hav ing the breath of life in it — I have giv en B ev ery green plant for food.” b And it was so. ³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good in deed. c Eve-ning came and then morn ing: the sixth day.

2 So the heav ens and the earth and ev ery thing in them were com plet ed. d ² On the sev enth C

day God had com plet ed his work that he had done, and he rest ed D on the sev enth day from all his work that he had done. e ³ God blessed the sev enth day and de clared it holy, for on it he rest ed f from all his work of cre a tion. E,g

MAN AND WOMAN IN THE GARDEN⁴ These are the rec ords h of the heav ens and the earth, con cern ing their cre a tion. At the time F that the L ORD God made the earth and

the heav ens, ⁵ no shrub of the field i had yet grown on the land, G and no plant of the field had yet sprout ed, for the L ORD God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. ⁶ But mist would come up from the earth and wa ter all the ground. ⁷ Then the L ORD God formed the man out of the dust from the ground j and breathed the breath of life into his nos trils, k and the man be came a liv ing be ing. l

⁸ The L ORD God plant ed a gar den in Eden, in the east, m and there he placed the man he had formed. ⁹ The L ORD God caused to grow out of the ground ev ery tree pleas ing in ap-pear ance and good for food, in clud ing the tree of life in the mid dle of the gar den, n as well as the tree of the knowl edge of good and evil. o

¹⁰ A riv er went H out from Eden to wa ter the gar den. From there it di vid ed and be came the source of four riv ers. I ¹¹ The name of the first is Pi shon, which flows through the en tire land of Hav i lah, J,p where there is gold. ¹² Gold from that land is pure; K bdel li um L and onyx M are also there. ¹³ The name of the sec ond riv er is

a 1:29 Gn 9:3; Ps 104:14-15; 136:25; 145:15-16

b 1:30 Ps 147:9c 1:31 1Tm 4:4d 2:1 Neh 9:6; Ps 33:6; Is 34:4; 45:12

e 2:2 Ex 20:8-11; 31:17; Dt 5:12-14; Heb 4:4

f 2:3 Ex 31:17g Ex 20:11; 31:17; Ps 121:2

h 2:4 Gn 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2

i 2:5 Gn 1:11-12j 2:7 Gn 3:19,23; 18:27; Ps 103:14; Ec 12:7; 1Co 15:47

k Gn 7:22; Jb 33:4; Is 2:22

l 1Co 15:45m 2:8 Gn 13:10; Is 51:3; Ezk 28:13; 31:8; Jl 2:3

n 2:9 Gn 3:22; Rv 2:7; 22:2,14

o Pr 3:18p 2:11 Gn 10:7,29; 25:18; 1Sm 15:7

A 1:28 Or and all scurrying animals that scurry B 1:30 I have given added for clarity C 2:2 Sam, LXX, Syr read sixth D 2:2 Or ceased, also in v. 3 E 2:3 Lit work that God created to make F 2:4 Lit creation on the day G 2:5 Or earth H 2:10 Or goes I 2:10 Lit became four heads J 2:11 Or of the Havilah K 2:12 Lit good L 2:12 A yellowish, transparent gum resin M 2:12 Identity of this precious stone uncertain

tions of marriage and the family. The final two commands, to subdue the earth and rule the animal kingdom, express God’s blessing on the use of the planet’s renewable and non-renewable natural resources. Of course, only the wise use of these resources permits peo-ple to fulfill God’s command to fill the earth. A similar command to the survivors of the flood is shorter, having only the first three verbs in it (9:1).1:29-30 The repeated use of Hebrew kol, “all, every, entire,” in vv. 29-30 shows that the point is to emphasize God’s abundant and generous provision for all his creatures, rath-er than to specify what they were or were not supposed to eat. While seed and fruit are list-ed here, Kenneth Mathews explains, “God’s dietary standards for mankind specifically include meat in the postdiluvian world” (Gn 9:3).1:31 This is the seventh, final, and most elab-orate use of the word good in the account of the seven days of creation in that it adds very to good.2:1 This verse serves as a complement to 1:1. Together, the two set the first six days of cre-ation apart from the sacred seventh day.2:2 This is the first use of the number seven in the Bible, a number that will play an especial-ly significant role in the religious and social life of ancient Israel (4:15; 7:2-4,10; 21:28-31; 29:18-20). On the seventh day God rested, thus setting an example for people—who are made in his image—to follow (Ex 20:8-11; Dt 5:12-14). Though God rested from all his work that he had done, this is not to say that God has abandoned the universe. In the NT Jesus a�irmed that God is still at work in the world,

even on the Sabbath (Jn 5:16-17). Also, God’s “rest” does not imply that he was tired. It lit-erally means “cease” and implies only that his creative work was complete.2:3 This is the only instance during the cre-ation process when God blessed a unit of time. The term holy is applied in the Bible to something set aside for service to God.2:4 The Hebrew word toledoth, translated here as records, is used eleven times in the book of Genesis to introduce new units of material (5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2). Here it introduces a detailed elaboration of some key aspects of the cre-ation account that opens the book of Genesis (1:1–2:3). Special emphasis is placed on the events of day six. Verse 4 includes the first use of God’s personal name, rendered in English as the LORD, the most commonly used noun in the OT. The Hebrew spelling is transliter-ated as “YHWH,” a word Jews considered so sacred that they would not permit themselves to pronounce it. Its accurate pronunciation is thus unknown, though common suggestions include “Jehovah” and “Yahweh.”2:5 The shrub of the field and the plant of the field are not the same as the vegetation described in Gn 1:11-12 but are the plants that will make up the Garden of Eden.2:6 This source of water, a bountiful blessing that provided moisture for all the ground in the time of human innocence, later became a source of judgment on humanity’s sin (7:11).2:7 The Hebrew verb translated here as formed is used elsewhere in the Bible to de-scribe the potter’s profession (Jr 18:4; Zch 11:13); God acts here as the divine potter, skill-fully fashioning man out of the dust from the

ground. But the Bible makes it very clear that people are more than just material beings. It was only when God breathed into the man’s nostrils the breath of life that Adam became alive. God is Spirit (Jn 4:24); thus, when God breathed into him, Adam and all later humans became a unique mix of the physical and the spiritual. The Hebrew phrase translated as liv-ing being is used elsewhere in Genesis to de-scribe other types of living beings (1:20,24,30; 9:12,15-16). Nevertheless, humans are con-sidered to be in a class by themselves since they alone are made in God’s image.2:8 The location of Eden is unknown; sug-gestions include Armenia, Iraq, Africa, and Arabia. Changes in geography caused by the flood in Noah’s day (7:11) make it unlikely that Eden will ever be discovered. The Hebrew word ‘eden literally means “pleasantness.”2:9 God’s concern for beauty is seen in the fact that the trees he caused to grow were pleas-ing in appearance. The Lord’s love of beau-ty will later be extended to Israel’s religion, which will make use of furnishings fashioned by expert cra§smen using expensive materi-als (Ex 25–40). Of course, God’s beautiful cre-ated works were also practical, being good for food.2:10 The abundance of the waters supplied in the garden of Eden is indicated by the fact that it served as the headwaters for four rivers.2:11 The location of the Pishon river is un-known. A land known as Havilah existed in the region of the Arabian peninsula at a later point in time (1Sm 15:7), but the pre-flood land may have represented a di�erent locale.2:12 The gold and gems of Eden foreshadow the splendor of the tabernacle and temple

7 GENESIS 2:13

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THE UNIQUENESS OF THE GENESIS CREATION STORYKenneth A. Mathews

W hile there are many similarities between parts of Genesis and ancient Near Eastern (ANE) myths, there are also

fundamental differences. These are seen especially in the significantly different views of the Creator and creation. Five features in particular distinguish the biblical creation account and perspective. So distinctive theologically is the biblical teaching from that of Israel’s neighbors that it is best explained as the result of divine revelation, not the imagination or “religious genius” of the biblical author.

THE IDENTITY OF GODThe basic identity of God as revealed in Genesis is distinct from all other ANE conceptions. The Lord God did not have an origin and did not have a female counterpart. In fact, Genesis does not present any kind of theogony (origin of the gods). God simply always existed. The concept of fertility was a common explanation among the ancients for how the world was created. It was believed that gods and goddesses joined in sexual union and thus produced the world, just as man and woman can come together to create a child. Israel’s God, however, was revealed to be asexual, neither male nor female. According to other ANE religions the world (or parts of it, like the sun) was a divine “Thou,” whereas in Genesis the world was revealed to be an “it,” a non-supernatural reality brought into existence by a supernatural God.

NO RIVAL GODSWhile polytheistic views dominated the ANE, Genesis revealed that God has no divine rivals. A common explanation for creation among the ancients was that an epic battle had raged between creator gods and anti-creation deities. Ultimately, the creator god overcame the anti-creation forces/gods, in some cases using the slain bodies of their enemies to make the stuff of the world. In Genesis there is no rival opposing the Creator. All creation obeyed the voice of God, as expressed in the recurring phrase, “and it was so” (1:7).

CREATION OUT OF NOTHINGIn Genesis the Creator by inherent authority as Sovereign Lord spoke creation into a functional, well-ordered existence. There was no eternal pre-created matter, such as was believed in the ancient myths. Genesis says God spoke all things into origination. This does not mean he uttered words that possessed inherent magical powers. Rather, the irrevocable power of God’s creation words was grounded in the authority of God himself. Unlike the nature deities whose existence was limited to the world system, God existed before creation and above creation. Also, creation was not the emanation of divine person or power. It was separate from him, a new reality subject to his will.

THE VALUE OF HUMANITYIn Genesis the Creator bestowed special value on humanity. Human beings in the ANE view were not indispensable to the operation of the world, whereas in Genesis they were essential as its chief caretakers. The Lord blessed humanity, assigning man and woman the responsibility to propagate and to rule over the earth (1:26-28). ANE myths explained the purpose of humanity as servants who met the servile interests of the gods. The Bible elevates the person and role of humans who were “crowned . . . with glory and honor” (Ps 8:5), made in the divine image. God prepared the resplendent Garden of Eden for humanity, giving humanity meaningful work and purpose (Gn 2:8-18). Also, Genesis presents the fi rst humanity as individuals who were the progenitors of the human race.

THE SABBATHIn Genesis the Creator provided the seventh day as a holy day of rest and celebration (2:1-3), which was later memorialized in Israel’s Sabbath (Ex 20:8-11). The Sabbath was unique to Israel, not tied to the movement of the stars, such as in the ancient preoccupation with astrology. The Lord was revealed as Master of the material universe and of time. All creation was invited to join in the knowledge of God and in the worship of him as Creator and Sustainer of all things.

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17

Gi hon, which flows through the en tire land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third riv er is Ti gris, a which runs east of As syr ia. And the fourth riv er is the Eu phra tes. b

¹⁵ The L ORD God took the man and placed him in the gar den of Eden to work it and watch over it. ¹⁶ And the L ORD God com-mand ed the man, “ You are free to eat from any tree of the gar den, c ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowl edge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will cer tain ly die.” d ¹⁸ Then the L ORD God said, “ It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a help er cor re spond ing e to him.” ¹⁹ The L ORD God formed out of the ground ev ery wild an i mal and ev ery bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. f And what ev er the man called

a liv ing crea ture, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all the live stock, to the birds of the sky, and to ev ery wild an i mal; but for the man A no help er was found cor re-spond ing to him. ²¹ So the L ORD God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, g and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. ²² Then the L ORD God made the rib he had tak en from the man into a wom an and brought her to the man. h ²³ And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called “woman,” for she was taken from man. i

²⁴ This is why a man leaves his fa ther and moth er and bonds with his wife, and they

a 2:14 Dn 10:4b Gn 15:18c 2:16 Gn 3:1-2d 2:17 Gn 3:5; Dt 30:15,19-20; Rm 6:23; 1Tm 5:6; Jms 1:15

e 2:18 Pr 31:11-12; 1Co 11:9; 1Tm 2:13

f 2:19 Ps 8:6g 2:21 Gn 15:12h 2:22 1Co 11:8,12i 2:23 Eph 5:28-30

A 2:20 Or for Adam

and the priestly garments. They symbolize the presence of God and show Eden to function as the original temple of God.2:13 The locations of the Gihon river and Cush are unknown. A later Cush was located in the region of modern Ethiopia and Sudan (Est 1:1).2:14 The Tigris and Euphrates rivers, as well as Assyria, probably correspond to geograph-ical features associated with modern Iraq.2:15 The Hebrew word translated as placed literally means, “caused to rest”; this pre-sin state of rest anticipates the rest (“relief”; 5:29) that again would come to humanity because of righteous Noah, as well as the rest God again would give Israel following its episode of calf worship (Ex 32:1-21; 33:14). As a being created in God’s image, Adam, like God, was to be a worker. Without the taint of sin, work was an undiluted blessing. The verb translated here as “work” literally means “serve.” Adam’s second task in the garden was to watch over it. The verb is used elsewhere to refer to the action of God toward his people (Ps 121:3-4) or the work of a military guard (Sg 5:7).2:16 The seriousness of God’s or-der is reflected in the fact that it is introduced by a two-verb phrase in Hebrew, rendered simply as commanded in the CSB. This for-mula was used frequently to ex-press royal decrees (1Sm 18:22; 2Sm 18:5). God gave Adam both freedom and limits. The God-giv-en freedoms vastly outnumbered the limitations. After all, Adam was free to eat from any tree of the garden except one.2:17 The only limit God placed on Adam was eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which apparently imparted divine wisdom (3:22). Eating the for-bidden fruit represented Adam’s rejection of God as the source of divine wisdom and his choice to pursue wisdom apart from God.

The penalty for disobedience was stated espe-cially forcefully in the original language, with a two-verb construction, “dying you shall die” (you will certainly die). Death would certainly come to Adam and all humanity a�er him; but the death that God warned about would be more than physical (3:19). Besides severing the cord of life, sin would shatter the harmonious relationship that existed between Adam and his environment (3:17-18), his wife (3:16), and God. Although Adam and Eve did not die physically on the day they ate the fruit, they died spiritu-ally, and all their descendants have been spiri-tually dead unless they are made alive by God’s Spirit. See Jn 5:24-25; Rm 6:13; 7:13,24; Eph 2:1-5; Col 2:13; 1Tm 5:6; 1Jn 3:14; Jd 12; Rv 3:1.2:18 The theme of God providing for Adam’s needs (see note at 2:9) is picked up again here, as God declared that Adam’s being alone is not good. God created the man with a need to relate to one corresponding to him, and now God will meet that need.

2:19 Like man, animals were formed out of the ground, but they received neither the breath of life from God (v. 7) nor the image of God. By giving names to the animals, Adam showed that he ruled the animals and that he perceived the nature of each animal (see note at 1:5).2:20 Adam’s understanding of the nature of the animals he named only highlighted the di�erences that existed between him and the rest of God’s creatures: no helper was found corresponding to him.2:21 At what must have been a moment of loneliness in Adam’s life, God stepped in to create one who would perfectly meet Adam’s need. Because God took one of his ribs to use as his raw material, the woman would correspond perfectly—though not identi-cally—to Adam. Like Adam, the woman pos-sessed God’s image. The fact that she was not taken either from the man’s head or his foot may suggest that the woman was not to

rule over the man (1Co 11:3), nor was the man to oppress the woman (1Pt 3:7).2:22-23 Adam’s first recorded words express his delight with God’s handiwork and his recog-nition of the unique suitability of God’s last recorded acts in the creation accounts. As with no oth-er work of divine cra�smanship, this one was singularly suited for the man, being bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. Adam ex-presses dominion by choosing a name for God’s final created being, but the name he chose suggests that he viewed her as his equal. The Hebrew term ’ishshah, woman, identifies her as the feminine complement to ’ish, the man.2:24 God’s timeless design for marriage is declared here. The one flesh relationship certainly involves sexual union, but also includes a husband and wife

’ishshahHebrew pronunciation [eesh SHAH]CSB translation womanUses in Genesis 152Uses in the OT 781Focus passage Genesis 2:22-25

’Ishshah may not be related to a Hebrew word for man in Gn 2:22-25 that looks and sounds like it (’iysh). ’Ishshah resembles a word for woman in several Semitic languages, and may derive from a verb meaning “be weak” that could also lie behind ’enosh, “man” (Jb 25:4,6). The phrase “born of woman” (Jb 14:1) points to mankind’s weaknesses. ’Ishshah has two basic meanings, woman and wife. Both ideas are present in the word’s first occurrences (Gn 2:22-25). ’Ishshah connotes fiancée or bride (Dt 22:24; 24:5). It signifies woman without implying marriage (Ec 7:28). It may be untranslated when describing female bodily functions (Gn 31:35). Sometimes ’ishshah describes a kind of woman, like a prophetess (Jdg 4:4). Fearful soldiers are compared to women (Nah 3:13). ’Ishshah functions as a feminine distributive meaning each, referring to women (Ru 1:8), animals, or even things. “Each to each” appears as together (Ex 26:5).

9 GENESIS 2:24

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be come one flesh. a ²⁵ Both the man and his wife were na ked, yet felt no shame.

THE TEMPTATION AND THE FALL

3 Now the ser pent was the most cun ning of all the wild an i mals that the L ORD God

had made. He said to the wom an, “ Did God real ly say, ‘ You can’t eat from any tree in the gar den’? ” b

² The wom an said to the ser pent, “ We may eat the fruit from the trees in the gar den. ³ But about the fruit of the tree in the mid dle of the gar den, God said, ‘ You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” c

⁴ “ No! You will not die,” the ser pent said to the wom an. d ⁵ “ In fact, God knows that when A you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, B know ing good and evil.” ⁶ The wom an saw that the tree was good for food and de light ful to look at, and that it was de sir able for obtaining wis dom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her hus band, who was with her, and he ate it. e ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were

opened, and they knew they were na ked; so they sewed fig leaves to geth er and made cov-er ings for them selves.

SIN’S CONSEQUENCES⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the L ORD God walk ing in the gar den at the time of the eve ning breeze, C and they hid from the L ORD God among the trees of the gar den. f ⁹ So the L ORD God called out to the man and said to him, “ Where are you? ”

¹⁰ And he said, “ I heard you D in the gar den, and I was afraid be cause I was na ked, so I hid.”

¹¹ Then he asked, “ Who told you that you were na ked? Did you eat from the tree that I com mand ed you not to eat from? ”

¹² The man re plied, g “ The wom an you gave to be with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”

¹³ So the L ORD God asked the wom an, “ What is this you have done? ”

And the wom an said, “ The ser pent de ceived me, and I ate.” h

¹⁴ So the L ORD God said to the ser pent:

a 2:24 Mal 2:15; Mt 19:5; Mk 10:7-8; 1Co 6:16; Eph 5:31

b 3:1 Mt 10:16; 2Co 11:3; Rv 12:9; 20:2

c 3:3 Gn 2:17d 3:4 Jn 8:44e 3:6 1Tm 2:14; Jms 1:14-15; 1Jn 2:16

f 3:8 Jb 34:22-23g 3:12 Jb 31:33; Pr 28:13

h 3:13 Rm 7:11; 2Co 11:3; 1Tm 2:14

A 3:5 Lit on the day B 3:5 Or gods, or divine beings C 3:8 Lit at the wind of the day D 3:10 Lit the sound of you

coming together in spiritual, mental, and emotional harmony.2:25 Because the devastating e�ects of sin had not yet ravaged nature or humanity, there was no need for clothing. Adam and Eve could live without the barriers needed to shield them from their environment and each other without a sense of shame. Later, in the time of the patriarchs and kings, clothing was associated with dignity. Accordingly, prison-ers of war were not permitted to wear any clothing, slaves wore very little clothing, and higher social classes wore more clothing than anyone else in society.3:1 Though we know the serpent was an instru-ment of Satan (Rm 16:20; Rv 12:9; 20:2), it was just a created being. Its description as cunning suggests it o�ered a wisdom not based on the fear of God. It tried to take Eve’s focus o� the abundance of God’s provision.3:2-3 The woman’s claim that God said, You must not . . . touch the tree, or you will die, goes be-yond anything recorded in God’s instructions to Adam. Therefore it seems that Adam had given his wife an additional command be-yond what God said, or else Eve herself exaggerated the command as Satan tempted her to view God as selfish and overly restrictive. If Adam added to God’s command, he almost certainly had a good motive—after all, if Eve never touched the tree, she certainly would not eat its fruit. However, the sad truth is that when people add to the word of God, they cre-ate confusion and trouble.

3:4-5 The serpent, recognizing the woman’s confusion, found a point of attack. Knowing that the woman would not die by merely touching the fruit, he boldly contradicted what she had reported to be God’s command. He then skillfully lied (Jn 8:44) by distorting God’s word (Mt 4:6), implying that God had prohibited people from eating the fruit only to keep them from becoming as knowledge-able as he. The woman was now fully deceived (1Tm 2:14).3:6 Since the woman did not die when she touched the fruit—in contradiction to what she had thought God said (v. 3.)—she ate it. Though Adam was with her at the time, he did nothing to stop her. Perhaps he wanted to eat

of it as much as the woman did, but fearing the consequences, used his wife as a “guinea pig” to make sure it would not cause instant death.3:7-8 As the serpent had indicated, the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew, but instead of producing godlike pow-er, the knowledge brought only a sense of hu-man inadequacy, fear, and shame.3:9 God took the initiative in reaching out to sinful humanity. This pattern—humanity sin-ning, then God seeking out sinners—becomes the primary theme of the rest of the Bible. Its ultimate expression is found in Jesus Christ, who came to seek and to save people alien-ated from God because of their sin (Lk 19:10); in him God once again walked on the earth in

search of sinners. The all-know-ing God asked Adam, Where are you? for Adam’s benefit, to en-courage Adam to face his sin.3:10 When Adam heard God, he was afraid. Rather than walking with God as righteous men of lat-er generations would do (Enoch, 5:22; Noah, 6:9), Adam hid from him.3:11 Through the use of two di-rect questions God brought Adam to accountability for his sin. God does not overlook sin, but he can be gently firm in confronting it.3:12 Adam answered neither of God’s questions; instead, he sought to shi¢ the blame for his sin first to the woman, and then to God.3:13 The woman passed the blame to the serpent and admit-ted that prior to eating, she was deceived (1Tm 2:14).

nachashHebrew pronunciation [nah KHASH]CSB translation serpent, snakeUses in Genesis 6Uses in the OT 31Focus passage Genesis 3:1-2,4,13-14

Although nachash is the most prevalent of eight OT terms for snake (Nm 21:6), the usage is broader than that. The nachash in Gn 3:1,14 was the shrewdest animal and did not crawl on its belly before the curse. The nachash Leviathan was a sea monster (Is 27:1), and there were other sea serpents (Am 9:3). Associated with nachash are slithering motion (Pr 30:19), flying (Is 14:29), sudden attack (Gn 49:17), poisonous venom (Ps 58:4), sharp bite (Ps 140:3), hissing (Jr 46:22), eggs (Is 14:29), and licking of dust (Gn 3:14; Mc 7:17). Five times nachash occurs with words meaning “viper.” The Middle East has large desert areas that are habitats for serpents. The serpent of Genesis 3, an enemy of man linked with evil, is particularly identified with Satan in Rv 12:9, where he is also called a “dragon,” based on the Greek drakōn, which can mean “serpent.”

10GENESIS 2:25

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19

Because you have done this, you are cursed more than any livestock and more than any wild animal. You will move on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. a ¹⁵ I will put hostility between you

and the woman, and between your o�spring

and her o�spring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel. b

¹⁶ He said to the wom an: I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children with painful

e�ort. c Your desire d will be

for your husband, yet he will rule over you.

¹⁷ And he said to the man, “Be cause you lis-tened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I com mand ed you, ‘ Do not eat from it’: The ground is cursed because of you. e You will eat from it by means of

painful labor A

all the days of your life. ¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles

for you, and you will eat the plants

of the field. f ¹⁹ You will eat bread B by the sweat

of your brow until you return to the ground, g since you were taken from it. For you are dust, and you will return to dust.”

²⁰ The man named his wife Eve C be cause she was the moth er of all the liv ing. ²¹ The L ORD God made cloth ing from skins for the man and his wife, and he clothed them.

²² The L ORD God said, “ Since the man has be-come like one of us, know ing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live for ev er.” h ²³ So the L ORD God sent him away from the gar den of Eden to work the ground from which he was tak en. ²⁴ He drove the man out and sta tioned the cher u-bim and the flam ing, whirl ing sword east of the gar den of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life. i

a 3:14 Is 65:25; Mc 7:17

b 3:15 Heb 2:14; 1Jn 3:8

c 3:16 Jn 16:21; 1Tm 2:15

d Gn 4:7e 3:17 Gn 5:29; Rm 8:20-22; Heb 6:8

f 3:18 Gn 2:5g 3:19 Ps 90:3; 104:29; Ec 12:7

h 3:22 Gn 2:9; Rv 2:7i 3:24 Ex 25:18-22; Ps 104:4; Ezk 10:1-20; Heb 1:7

A 3:17 Lit it through pain B 3:19 Or food C 3:20 Lit Living, or Life

3:14 Though accountability began with God’s confrontation of Adam, judgment began with the serpent. Because of the serpent’s key role (being used of Satan) in bringing sin into the human experience, it would be permanently consigned to the position of ultimate shame, under the foot. Just as conquered kings were made to lie on the ground under the foot of their conquerors (Jos 10:24), so now the ser-pent would live under the feet of humanity.3:15 Hostility between the first woman and the serpent would be passed on to future gen-erations. This verse is known in Christendom as the protoevangelium, or “first good news,” because it is the first foretelling of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Using an emphatic Hebrew construction, God announced here that a male descendant—He—would someday deal the serpent (meaning Satan) a fatal blow. The NT writers understood Jesus Christ to have fulfilled this prophecy (Heb 2:14; 1Jn 3:8). In an extended sense, the NT also indicates that God would work through the church—those indwelt by the Spirit of Christ—to destroy the works of the devil (Rm 16:20). The assertion that the snake would only strike his oppo-nent’s heel (as opposed to head) suggests that the devil will be defeated in the ensuing struggle (Rv 2:2,7-10).3:16 Even though the woman had been de-ceived into eating the forbidden fruit, she was still held accountable for her act. Notably, how-ever, the word cursed is not contained in God’s words to her (v v. 14,16). Two penalties were imposed; both struck at the heart of a wom-an’s roles in life. More than would have been the case had sin not entered creation, bearing children would add to the sum of painful e�ort

in the universe (God said he would intensify, not originate, woman’s labor pains). Marriage would also be marred; though the woman’s desire would be for her husband, sin would mar God’s plan for marriage and create tor-menting inequality and subjugation. The latter is a description of the ravaging e�ect of sin on a husband-wife relationship, not a prescrip-tion for abusing one’s wife. The NT teaches that marriage should reflect the relationship of Christ with the church (Eph 5:24-25) and be characterized by a husband’s understanding of and respect for his wife (1Pt 3:7).3:17 Because Adam listened to and obeyed his wife in preference to what God command-ed (2:17), a curse would strike at the heart of a fundamental relationship in his life as well. Adam’s relationship with the ground would now be damaged by sin. All the days of his life he would experience painful labor (cp. the woman’s labor pains, v. 16) as he worked to bring forth the fruit of the earth. Because of sin, all creation is cursed and longs for its day of deliverance (Rm 8:19-22).3:18 Prior to the first couple’s sins God is only recorded as having put trees in the garden (2:8-9); now there would also be thorns and thistles. Prior to sin, humanity had only to reach up to get food; now they would have to bend their backs to gather plants of the field.3:19 The simple plucking of fruit in order to eat food (lit “bread”) would now be replaced by back breaking labor and the sweat of the brow. Working daily in the soil, Adam would be continually reminded that he was dust and that he would return to dust.3:20 The new name Adam gave his wife em-phasizes the woman’s life-giving role that

counteracts the curse of sin, which is death. Yet the divine order calls for a reciprocity exhibited in male servant leadership and fe-male submission, both of which are modeled in Jesus himself.3:21 By making clothing from skins, the LORD God graciously provided for humanity’s need in a way superior to what Adam and Eve had done with fig leaves. The use of animal skins anticipates the OT system of animal sacrifices (Lv 1; 3–7; Nm 15:1-31). In the NT, the apostle Paul spoke of a day when God would clothe his people with immortality (1Co 15:53-54; 2Co 5:4), thus providing the complete undo-ing of the curse of humanity’s sin.3:22 Because of sin, people now knew good and evil experientially. Since the gi¥ of life was directly tied to obedience, man’s sin meant that the penalty of death must be en-forced. Expulsion was at the same time an act of mercy. Banning the humans from the tree of life allowed for their redemption rather than for them to live a life of perpetual sin in an unredeemed condition.3:23 As the Hebrew text ironically expresses it, the LORD God sent Adam from the garden so that he would not send forth (“reach out”; v. 22) his hand for the garden’s fruit.3:24 Following their sin, the first couple went east, a direction associated with departure from God in numerous biblical examples. Oth-er instances of eastward movement in Gene-sis include Cain’s journeys after judgment (4:16), humanity’s migration toward Babylon (11:2), and the migration of Keturah’s sons (25:6). Cherubim are used as an artistic motif in the tabernacle (Ex 25:18-22; 26:1) and are also mentioned in Ezk 10 and 11. The ironies

11 GENESIS 3:24

01_Gen.indd 11 28/10/16 12.39

CAIN MURDERS ABEL

4 The man was in ti mate with his wife Eve, and she con ceived and gave birth to Cain. She

said, “ I have had a male child with the L ORD’ s help.” A ² She also gave birth to his broth er Abel. Now Abel be came a shep herd of flocks, but Cain worked the ground. ³ In the course of time Cain pre sent ed some of the land’s pro duce as an o� er ing to the L ORD. a ⁴ And Abel also pre-sent ed an o� er ing — some of the first born of his flock and their fat por tions. b The L ORD had re gard for Abel and his o� er ing, c ⁵ but he did not have re gard for Cain and his o� er ing. Cain was fu ri ous, and he looked de spon dent. B

⁶ Then the L ORD said to Cain, “ Why are you fu ri ous? d And why do you look de spon dent? C ⁷ If you do what is right, won’t you be ac cept-ed? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouch ing at the door. Its de sire is for you, but you must rule over it.” e

⁸ Cain said to his broth er Abel, “ Let’s go out to the field.” D And while they were in the field, Cain at tacked his broth er Abel and killed him. f

⁹ Then the L ORD said to Cain, “ Where is your broth er Abel? ”

“ I don’t know,” he re plied. “ Am I my broth-er’s guard ian? ”

¹⁰ Then he said, “ What have you done? Your broth er’s blood cries out to me from the ground! g ¹¹ So now you are cursed, alien at ed from the ground that opened its mouth to re ceive your broth er’s blood you have shed. E ¹² If you work the ground, it will nev er again give you its yield. You will be a rest less wan-der er on the earth.” h

¹³ But Cain an swered the L ORD, “ My pun-ish ment F is too great to bear! ¹⁴ Since you are banishing me to day from the face of the earth, and I must hide from your pres ence and be-come a rest less wan der er on the earth, who-ev er finds me will kill me.” i

¹⁵ Then the L ORD re plied to him, “ In that case, G who ev er kills Cain will su� er ven-geance sev en times over.” H And he placed a mark j on Cain so that who ev er found him would not kill him. ¹⁶ Then Cain went out from the L ORD’ s pres ence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

THE LINE OF CAIN¹⁷ Cain was in ti mate with his wife, and she con ceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain be came the build er of a city, and he named the city Enoch af ter his son. ¹⁸ Irad was born

a 4:3 Ex 23:19; 34:26; Neh 10:35

b 4:4 Ex 13:12; Nm 18:17; Pr 3:9

c Heb 11:4d 4:6 Jnh 4:4e 4:7 Gn 3:16f 4:8 Mt 23:35; Lk 11:51; 1Jn 3:12-15; Jd 11

g 4:10 Nm 35:33; Dt 21:1-9; Heb 12:24; Rv 6:9-10

h 4:12 Dt 28:16-18; Is 26:21

i 4:14 Nm 35:26-27j 4:15 Ex 9:4; Ezk 9:4,6; Rv 13:16-17

A 4:1 Lit the LORD B 4:5 Lit and his face fell C 4:6 Lit why has your face fallen D 4:8 Sam, LXX, Syr, Vg; MT omits “Let’s go out to the field.” E 4:11 Lit blood from your hand F 4:13 Or sin G 4:15 LXX, Syr, Vg read “Not so!” H 4:15 Or suffer severely

continue as the man who was once com-manded to “watch over” the garden (Gn 2:15) is now banned from the garden.4:1 Adam and Eve now begin to fulfill God’s original command to them, to “be fruitful” and “multiply” (1:28). Eve, whose name means “life,” now becomes the life-giver. Eve knew that the child was more than the result of her and her husband’s love; he came into being with the LORD’s help. A wordplay in the Hebrew suggests that the name Cain (qayin) came from the verb had (qaniti) in Eve’s com-ment, I have had a male child.4:2 The name Abel means “breath”; the term is used elsewhere in the OT to refer to that which passes away quickly and is insubstan-tial (Ps 62:10; Ec 1:2).4:3 Cain’s sacrifice marks the first mention of an o�ering to the LORD in the Bible. The He-brew term used here suggests a freewill gi� given to an authority.4:4-5 Ironically, the first recorded o�ering given to God was also the first one rejected by him. Since grain offerings were autho-rized in the law of Moses, the fact that Cain’s o�ering was of vegetation rather than an animal is not why God did not have regard for it. Cain’s furious reaction suggests that the o�ering was rejected because of sin in his heart, not the nature of his o�ering. See note at vv. 6-7.4:6-7 The Bible makes it clear that God had rejected Cain’s offering because of Cain’s wicked lifestyle (1Jn 3:12). The animal-like de-scription of sin as crouching is reused in 49:9 to describe a lion. The parallel use of desire in

this verse and 3:16 suggests that sin wishes to be as intimate with humanity as a woman is with her husband. The only way to avoid this is to be its master, not its companion.4:8 In a move that demonstrates premedita-tion, Cain led Abel to the field and attacked him in a place where there were no human witnesses. Though the blood of animals had been shed prior to this (v. 4), Cain’s killing of his brother brought about the first death of a human. The curse of human death pro-nounced against Adam (2:17; 3:19) had now been realized.4:9 God’s use of questions with guilty sinners continues here (v. 6; cp. 3:9-13). By claiming he did not know where his brother was, Cain added lying to his sin of murder. God once made Adam a guardian (Hb shamar) of the garden (2:15). Cain now asked if he was to be his brother’s guardian (Hb shamar). The Bi-ble’s answer to Cain’s question is yes (Lv 19:18; Mt 22:39; Gl 5:14).4:10 Unlike his father Adam (3:12), Cain never confessed his guilt, even though God directly confronted him with his sin. Though Abel nev-er spoke in the preceding narrative, his blood now cried out from the ground.4:11 God’s judgment began with a curse whose wording in the Hebrew parallels the curse placed on the snake. This is particularly fitting since both were liars and murderers (Jn 8:44). It is possible to translate God’s statement here as “You are more cursed than the ground.” The curse against a murderer is repeated in the law of Moses (Dt 27:24).4:12 Cain’s punishment destroyed his live-

lihood as a farmer and turned him into a rest-less wanderer.4:13 Cain’s response has several possible English renderings. The CSB—which reflects the unrepentant attitude Cain showed earli-er—expresses Cain’s anguish, but no remorse. The Septuagint and Martin Luther translated it as, “My sin is too great to be forgiven,” while early rabbis took it as a question: “Is my sin too great to forgive?” In view of Cain’s previ-ous and later actions, the CSB’s translation seems best.4:14 Just as his father Adam had been driven out (Hb garash) of the garden, Cain noted that God was banishing (Hb garash) him from the face of the earth. Since he would hide (or possibly, “be hidden”) from God’s protective presence, he feared that other descendants of Adam and Eve (5:4) would kill him to avenge Abel’s murder.4:15 True to his compassionate and forgiving nature (Ex 34:6-7), God made two provisions for Cain to protect him despite his sin.4:16 Cain’s departure from the LORD’s pres-ence was both physical and spiritual (Jnh 1:3,10). Nod means “wandering.” The land of Nod is never mentioned again in the Bible. Perhaps the phrase simply referred to any location in which Cain resided. The notation that Cain departed to live east of Eden iden-tifies him with other sinners who also moved east (see note at 3:24).4:17 The parallel tracks of Adam’s and Cain’s lives—sin, judgment by God, banishment, and eastward movement—continue with the nota-tion that a�er these things Cain was intimate

12GENESIS 4:1

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21

to Enoch, Irad fa thered Me hu ja el, Me hu ja el fa thered Me thu sha el, and Me thu sha el fa-thered La mech. ¹⁹ La mech took two wives for him self, one named Adah and the oth-er named Zil lah. ²⁰ Adah bore Ja bal; he was the fa ther of the nomadic herds men. A ²¹ His broth er was named Ju bal; he was the fa ther of all who play the lyre and the flute. ²² Zil-lah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. Tubal-cain’s sis ter was Na a mah.

²³ La mech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, pay attention

to my words. For I killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. ²⁴ If Cain is to be avenged

seven times over, then for Lamech it will be

seventy-seven times!

²⁵ Adam was in ti mate with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, for she said, “ God has giv en B me an oth er child C in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” ²⁶ A son was born to Seth a also, and he named him Enosh. At that time peo ple be gan to call on the name of the L ORD. b

THE LINE OF SETH

5 This is the doc u ment con tain ing the fam i-ly D rec ords c of Adam. E On the day that God

cre at ed man, F he made him in the like ness of God; ² he cre at ed them male and fe male. When they were cre at ed, he blessed them and called them man kind. G

³ Adam was 130 years old when he fa thered a son in his like ness, ac cord ing to his im age, and named him Seth. ⁴ Adam lived 800 years af ter he fa thered Seth, and he fa thered oth-er sons and daugh ters. ⁵ So Adam’s life last ed 930 years; then he died.

a 4:26 Lk 3:38b Gn 12:8; 26:25; 1Kg 18:24; Ps 116:17; Jl 2:32; Zph 3:9; 1Co 1:2

c 5:1 Gn 2:4

A 4:20 Lit the dweller of tent and livestock B 4:25 The Hb word for given sounds like the name “Seth.” C 4:25 Lit seed D 5:1 Lit written family E 5:1 Or mankind F 5:1 Or Adam, human beings G 5:2 Hb ‘adam

with his wife (cp. v. 1). In spite of his grave sin, Cain still fulfilled the divine command to be fruitful and multiply (1:28). But Cain’s e�orts to become the builder of a city were one more expression of disobedience to God, for God had ordained Cain to be a wanderer (v. 12). The city of Enoch is not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible, and its location is unknown.

Cain’s genealogy in vv. 17-24 has similar-ities with Seth’s genealogy (5:3-32). Two of the names in both lines are identical (Enoch, Lamech) and others are similar (Cain/Kenan; Methushael/Methuselah). In addition, the seventh member of both genealogies (Cain’s Lamech, Seth’s Enoch) are given special em-phasis, and both conclude with a person who has three named sons. Notable di�erences exist as well: Seth’s genealogy is longer and contains life span details, but it omits any mention of occupations or wives’ names.4:18 Three individuals here—Irad . . . Mehu-jael, and Methushael—are mentioned in the Bible only in this verse.4:19 More details are provided in this ge-nealogical section for Lamech, the seventh member of Adam’s line through Cain, than for any other. His three named sons made crucial contributions to human culture. However, the description of Lamech’s life paints a troubling picture of an individual who lacked respect for marriage or human life. By taking two wives for himself Lamech became the first polyga-mist, a violation of God’s intentions for mar-riage (2:22; Mk 10:6-8).4:20 Jabal brought about key advances in the profession of the nomadic herdsmen—those who cared for sheep, goats, and cattle (Hb miqneh). This represents an advance beyond what Abel had done since he is only known to have tended sheep and goats (v. 2; Hb tso’n).4:21 Jubal advanced civilization in the area of the musical arts, playing a key role in de-

veloping two of the most important musical instruments of the ancient world, the lyre and the flute.4:22 Tubal-cain’s metallurgical advances in creating bronze (made by combining copper and tin) and smelting iron would prove crucial for cra�ing tools and weapons.4:23 Lamech’s so-called “Song of the Sword,” the longest recorded speech by a human to this point in the Bible (twenty-one Hebrew words), represents the dark climax of the Cainite ge-nealogy. His level of retaliation against a man and a young man goes far beyond the biblical limits (Ex 21:23-25), and his boast of killing for vengeance foreshadows the conditions that led to the flood in Noah’s day (Gn 6:11).4:24 Using twisted logic, Lamech seemed to suggest that God would provide him with greater protection than he did Cain since he had killed double the number of men.4:25 The name Seth (Hb sheth) is a wordplay on the verb translated has given (Hb shath). Once again (v. 1), Eve recognized God as the ultimate source of her o�spring. The expecta-tion that Seth would be more righteous than Cain is established by Eve’s statement that God gave him to her in place of Abel. In fact, the family line that ultimately produced Jesus is traceable through Seth (Lk 3:38).4:26 The name Enosh, like the name Adam, means “humanity.” In a very real sense Enosh’s birth marks a new and brighter be-ginning for humanity, as people now began to call on the name of the LORD, “Yahweh.” Yahweh is God’s personal name (Ex 3:15).5:1 This is the second of eleven (Hb) toledoth sections in Genesis (2:4; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2). The Hebrew term tole-doth (“family records”) refers to “those who were given birth.” Each section contains gene-alogical information and/or accounts regard-ing the descendants of the people or things named in the section title.

Only the Sethite genealogy is called the family records of Adam, even though Cain’s descendants are equally related. The reason for this is undoubtedly the contrasting de-scendants within the brothers’ genealogies; only offspring in Seth’s line are noted as being righteous. In this genealogy, empha-sis is given to the fact that Adam was creat-ed in God’s likeness, a characteristic that would be passed along to future generations (v. 3).5:2 Key themes of chap. 1 are repeated and extended in the Sethite genealogy: (1) God created both male and female, thus making it possible for humanity to fulfill the divine mandate to create offspring; (2) people, though made in God’s image, are not God; they were created; (3) humanity has been specially blessed by God; and (4) humanity is under God’s authority, as demonstrated by the fact that God assigned them the name mankind.5:3 Adam’s role in Seth’s life both compares and contrasts with God’s role with Adam. Whereas God “created” Adam, Adam fathered Seth. Whereas Adam was made in God’s im-age, Seth was made in Adam’s image. Like God, Adam named the one he was responsi-ble for bringing into being.5:4 The phrase fathered other sons and daughters is repeated ten times in the Sethite genealogy, but it never occurs in the Cainite genealogy. The clear implication is that the line of Seth more faithfully fulfilled God’s command to be fruitful and multiply (1:28).5:5 Only three individuals are said to have lived longer than Adam’s 930 years. They are Noah (950), Jared (962), and Methuselah (969). The notation that he died emphasizes the solemn truth of God’s curse following Ad-am’s sin (3:19). The fact that it is repeated sev-en other times in this chapter demonstrates the lasting consequences of Adam’s sin.

13 GENESIS 5:5

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⁶ Seth was 105 years old when he fa thered Enosh. ⁷ Seth lived 807 years af ter he fa thered Enosh, and he fa thered oth er sons and daugh-ters. ⁸ So Seth’s life last ed 912 years; then he died.

⁹ Enosh was 90 years old when he fa thered Ke nan. ¹⁰ Enosh lived 815 years af ter he fa-thered Ke nan, and he fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. ¹¹ So Enosh’s life last ed 905 years; then he died.

¹² Ke nan was 70 years old when he fa thered Ma ha la lel. ¹³ Ke nan lived 840 years af ter he fa thered Ma ha la lel, and he fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. ¹⁴ So Ke nan’s life last ed 910 years; then he died.

¹⁵ Ma ha la lel was 65 years old when he fa-thered Ja red. ¹⁶ Ma ha la lel lived 830 years af-ter he fa thered Ja red, and he fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. ¹⁷ So Ma ha la lel’s life last-ed 895 years; then he died.

¹⁸ Ja red was 162 years old when he fa thered Enoch. ¹⁹ Ja red lived 800 years af ter he fa thered Enoch, and he fa thered oth er sons and daugh-ters. ²⁰ So Ja red’s life last ed 962 years; then he died.

²¹ Enoch was 65 years old when he fa-thered Me thu se lah. ²² And af ter he fa thered

Me thu se lah, Enoch walked with God a 300 years and fa thered oth er sons and daugh-ters. ²³ So Enoch’s life last ed 365 years. ²⁴ Enoch walked with God; then he was not there be-cause God took him. b

²⁵ Me thu se lah was 187 years old when he fa-thered La mech. ²⁶ Me thu se lah lived 782 years af ter he fa thered La mech, and he fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. ²⁷ So Me thu se lah’s life last ed 969 years; then he died.

²⁸ La mech was 182 years old when he fa-thered a son. ²⁹ And he named him Noah, A say ing, “ This one will bring us re lief from the ag o niz ing la bor of our hands, caused by the ground the L ORD has cursed.” c ³⁰ La mech lived 595 years af ter he fa thered Noah, and he fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. ³¹ So La mech’s life last ed 777 years; then he died.

³² Noah was 500 years old, and he fa thered Shem, Ham, and Ja pheth.

SONS OF GOD AND DAUGHTERS OF MANKIND

6 When man kind be gan to mul ti ply on the earth and daugh ters were born to them,

² the sons of God d saw that the daugh ters of man kind were beau ti ful, and they took

a 5:22 Gn 6:9; 17:1; 24:40; 48:15; Mc 6:8; Mal 2:6; 1Th 2:12

b 5:24 2Kg 2:11; Heb 11:5

c 5:29 Gn 3:17-19; 4:11

d 6:2 Jb 1:6; 2:1; 38:7

A 5:29 In Hb, the name Noah sounds like “bring us relief.”

5:6-31 The name Kenan (Hb qeynan) is close-ly linked to Cain (Hb qayin), and may mean “metalworker.”

The name Mahalalel may mean “one who praises God.”

The name Enoch means “dedication.”Enoch, as the seventh member of the

Sethite genealogy, is given special emphasis. The name Methuselah may mean either “man of the spear” or “man of Shelah.”

Enoch’s life stands in stark contrast to Lamech, the seventh member of Cain’s line. Whereas Lamech was notorious for his immo-rality and violence, Enoch walked with God, much as Adam must have done before his sin in the garden (3:8) and as Noah did later (6:9). The phrase “walked with God” suggests living a life consistent with God’s will as well as experiencing fellowship with him. Perhaps it was Enoch’s entrance into parenthood with the birth of Methuselah that inspired him to take his relationship with God seriously. Imagine the level of spiritual maturity Enoch must have attained a�er 300 years of living wholeheartedly for God! Jude 14 indicates that Enoch was a prophet.

The description of Enoch’s life di�ers from the others in two remarkable ways: (1) His righ-teousness is highlighted through the double notation that Enoch walked with God. (2) The description of the end of his life is mysterious: he was not there because God took him. The NT confirms the meaning of this phrase: “Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death” (Heb 11:5). Enoch’s experi-ence, like Elijah’s later (2Kg 2:11), anticipates an experience reserved for Christians living at the end of time (1Co 15:51-55; 1Th 4:17).

Methuselah’s 969 years marks him as the oldest person in the Bible. Ancient genealo-gies commonly attribute long life spans to people. While the Bible’s numbers are excep-tionally large compared to modern life spans, they seem much more credible than those found in the Sumerian king list, which states that one individual reached the age of seven-ty-two thousand!

The Lamech of the Sethite genealogy (v. 28) stands in sharp contrast to the Lamech of the Cainite genealogy. Both Lamechs are the only individuals in their respective ge-nealogies to have quotations attributed to them, but Cain’s Lamech spoke of murder and vengeance (4:23-24), while the Lamech in this chapter spoke words of hope and deliver-ance. The name Noah means “rest/relief.” Pro-phetically, Lamech declared that the son born to him would live up to his name: he would bring . . . relief to humanity from the agoniz-ing labor that had resulted from Adam’s sin. The Hebrew verb “relief” is more commonly translated “comfort.”

A final point of comparison between the Cainite and Sethite Lamechs is the use of sev-ens. The first Lamech mentioned Cain’s seven-fold curse and pronounced a 77-fold curse on anyone who would bring death to him, while Seth’s Lamech lived 777 years before death came to him. For the numbers-conscious original audience, the author’s inclusion of a figure consisting of three sevens would have trumped the first Cain’s numbers and would have added a sense of completeness and per-fection to the portrait of this man’s life.5:32 The mention of Noah at the end of the Sethite genealogy serves as both a conclusion

to this section of Genesis and a subtle intro-duction of the central human character in its next major section. A similar technique will be used in the case of Terah and Abraham (cp. 5:32 and 6:9 with 11:26-27).6:1-4 The first four verses of this chapter serve as a transition introducing the account of God’s greatest act of nature-based judgment on sinful humanity. Positively, these opening verses demonstrate humanity’s faithfulness in fulfilling God’s command to “multiply, fill the earth” (1:28). This brief portion of Gene-sis is one of the most controversial sections of the entire Bible. Major disagreements sur-round each of these verses. Careful study of the Hebrew text does not end the debates; if anything, it only sharpens them. The contro-versies are listed below.6:2 This verse begins to build the case that there was something terribly wrong about the way in which God’s command to multiply was being fulfilled. Using language that parallels the sequence leading to humanity’s first sin in the garden (3:6), the sons of God first saw something that they thought was good, and then took what they desired for themselves.

Controversy (cp. Jdg 14:1-2) surrounds the phrase “the sons of God.” Three di�erent basic positions have been staked out regarding the identity of these “sons.” They have been un-derstood as heavenly beings (an ancient Jew-ish position, still accepted by many today), as kings or men of high social status, and as men from the godly family line of Seth.

Favoring their identity as heavenly beings—likely angels—is the fact that elsewhere in the OT the phrase “sons of God” refers only to heavenly creatures (Jb 1:6; 2:1; 38:7) and that

14GENESIS 5:6

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23

any they chose as wives A for them selves. a ³ And the L ORD said, “ My Spir it will not re-main B with C man kind for ev er, b be cause they are cor rupt. D,c Their days will be 120 years.” ⁴ The Neph i lim E were on the earth both in those days and af ter ward, when the sons of God came to the daugh ters of man kind, who bore chil dren to them. They were the pow er ful men of old, the fa mous men.

JUDGMENT DECREED⁵ When the L ORD saw that hu man wick ed ness was wide spread on the earth and that ev ery in cli na tion of the hu man mind was noth ing but evil all the time, d ⁶ the L ORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, e and he was deep ly grieved. F ⁷ Then the L ORD said, “ I will wipe man kind, whom I cre at ed, o� the face of the earth, to geth er with the an i mals, crea-tures that crawl, and birds of the sky — for

a 6:2 1Pt 3:19-20; Jd 6b 6:3 Gl 5:16-17; 1Pt 3:20

c Ps 78:39d 6:5 Gn 8:21; Ps 14:1-3; Pr 6:18; Mt 15:19; Rm 1:28-32

e 6:6 Nm 23:19; 1Sm 15:11,29; 2Sm 24:16; Jl 2:13

A 6:2 Or women B 6:3 Or strive C 6:3 Or in D 6:3 Lit flesh E 6:4 Possibly means “fallen ones”; traditionally, “giants”; Nm 13:31-33 F 6:6 Lit was grieved to his heart

the NT refers to fallen angels (2Pt 2:4; Jd 6). Those who accept this view hold that the sin that prompted God’s anger in this passage was a violation of Gn 2:24, brought about by sexual relations between human and angelic beings, resulting in the creation of the Nephilim. But this view has its di�iculties. For instance, Jesus indicated that angels do not marry (Mt 22:30) and Paul used the phrase “sons of God” to refer to godly people, not angels (Gl 3:26).

The view that the “sons of God” are kings or aristocrats is supported by the fact that Elohim, the common Hebrew word for “God,” is sometimes applied to persons who have great social power (Ps 82:6-7; Jn 10:34-35). Advocates of this position say that the “daughters of mankind” were people of lower social status. Thus the pas-sage is thought to indicate possible abuse of lower class women by licentious men of privilege. Interpreters who take this view do not necessarily connect the Nephilim with these marriages.

The third position is the most popular view among evangelical Christians. It as-sumes that the “sons of God” were descen-dants of godly Seth, while the “daughters of mankind” were descendants of ungodly Cain. Assuming the descendants of both men kept true to the moral examples set by their respective ancestors, the union of these two spiritually incompatible lines was contradic-tory to God’s will (2Co 6:14) and resulted in the total corruption of humanity, represented by the Nephilim.6:3 The meaning of this verse is one of the most disputed in the Bible: Is it about God short-ening humanity’s life spans, or about God setting a time for the universal flood? There is no general agreement as to its meaning, so the various Bible translations reflect translators’ di�ering viewpoints. According-ly, disagreement exists among translators regarding the refer-ence to Spirit; some understand the Hebrew word to refer to the animating force present in living beings—thus rendering it “spirit” (KJV)—while many others, such as the CSB, understand it to refer to the Holy Spirit. Closely related to this issue is the appropriate

translation of the phrase rendered in the CSB as remain with. Significant variations include “abide in” (ESV) and “contend with” (NIV). Complicating the issue still further is the Hebrew word basar, which is normally trans-lated “flesh” (KJV) but which can be taken figuratively to refer to that which is corrupt.6:4 Two major questions arise in this verse: who are the Nephilim and what if anything is the connection of the Nephilim to the sons of God and the daughters of mankind? The word Nephilim is actually a transliteration—not a translation—of the Hebrew word; trans-lated, it means “fallen ones,” a phrase that could mean morally or physically degraded individuals, or possibly angels who fell from heaven (Is 14:12).

In spite of its literal meaning, many ver-sions (e.g., KJV, NLT) have followed the Sep-tuagint in translating it as “giants,” a guess seemingly based on the mention of Nephilim in Nm 13:33. This proposal appears unlikely, however, since no Nephilim would have sur-vived the flood (Gn 7:22-23) and thus could not have lived during the post-flood events narrated in Numbers. Further, the Nephilim are never mentioned as one of the groups to be wiped out by the Israelites when they entered Canaan. Their mention in Nm 13 probably came from the lips of a fear-crazed spy who misinterpreted what he had seen in Canaan.

Were the Nephilim products of the mar-riages between the sons of God and the daughters of mankind (v. 2)? Possibly, but in the Hebrew text there is no explicit connec-tion between them. Moreover, the fact that they were on the earth . . . in those days, i.e., before and during the sinful unions, leads some to suggest that their origins are else-where. Whatever their ancestry, as powerful and famous men they played a significant role in pre-flood society.6:5 God, who alone can observe both peo-ple’s outward actions (Jb 34:21) and their thoughts (1Sm 16:7), saw what was visible—that human wickedness was widespread—and what was invisible—that every inclina-tion of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time. The word translated “mind” is literally “heart,” reflecting the ancient con-ception that this organ was the seat of the intellect, emotion, and will.6:6 For the first time in the Bible, the LORD regretted something that he had made. However, his regret did not stem from some-thing he had done wrong, but rather from what humanity was doing wrong. The fact that people had become totally preoccupied with evil grieved him deeply, much as Isra-el’s sin would later grieve him (Ps 78:40-41; Is 63:10).6:7 Humanity was created to obey, worship, and fellowship with God. However, the mag-

nitude of people’s sin had pro-gressively increased from that of eating forbidden fruit (3:6), to murder (4:8), to polygamy and multiple murders (4:23), and finally to worldwide preoccu-pation with evil (6:6). God’s pa-tience had come to an end, and the curse pronounced against Adam would now be amplified in a single catastrophic act. Since humanity was the capstone of God’s creation, the elimination of people would take away any need for the ecological support system that sustained them; therefore, it was expedient to destroy the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds as well. Even as Adam’s sin had caused him to lose the garden of Eden and Cain’s sin drove him from the soil, the sins of humanity would now cause them to lose the earth.

‘atsabHebrew pronunciation [ah TSAV]CSB translation grieveUses in Genesis 3Uses in the OT 15Focus passage Genesis 6:6

‘Atsab is in a word family concerned with emotional and physical pain. The active regular verb means infuriate (1Kg 1:6) and experience pain (1Ch 4:10); the passive connotes wounded (Is 54:6). Reflexive-passive forms indicate be grieved (Gn 6:6; 45:5) or grieve (Neh 8:10). ‘Etseb (6x) is painful e�ort (Gn 3:16; Pr 10:22), hard work (Ps 127:2), hard-earned pay (Pr 5:10), and harsh (Pr 15:1). ‘Atstsebet (5x) denotes sorrows (Ps 16:4), wounds (Ps 147:3), pains (Jb 9:28), grief (Pr 10:10), and sad (Pr 15:13). ‘Otseb (3x) suggests o�ensive (Ps 139:24). It is pain (1Ch 4:9), and the name Jabez is derived from it. ‘Itstsabon (3x) implies painful e�ort (Gn 3:16), painful labor (Gn 3:17), or agonizing (Gn 5:29). ‘Atseb refers to oppressed workers (Is 58:3). Ma‘atsebah signifies place of torment (Is 50:11). The word family shows that labor involves pain.

15 GENESIS 6:7

01_Gen.indd 15 28/10/16 12.39

I re gret that I made them.” ⁸ Noah, how ev er, found fa vor with the L ORD. a

GOD WARNS NOAH⁹ These are the fam i ly rec ords b of Noah. Noah was a righ teous man, c blame less among his contemporaries; d Noah walked with God. e ¹⁰ And Noah fa thered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Ja pheth.

¹¹ Now the earth was cor rupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with wick ed ness. A ¹² God saw how cor rupt the earth was, for ev ery crea ture had cor rupt ed its way on the earth. f ¹³ Then God said to Noah, “ I have de-cid ed to put an end to ev ery crea ture, for the

earth is filled with wick ed ness be cause of them; there fore I am go ing to de stroy them along with the earth.

¹⁴ “ Make your self an ark of gopher B wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cov er it with pitch in side and out side. ¹⁵ This is how you are to make it: The ark will be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. C ¹⁶ You are to make a roof, D fin ish ing the sides of the ark to with in eigh teen inch es E of the roof. You are to put a door in the side of the ark. Make it with low-er, mid dle, and up per decks.

¹⁷ “Un der stand that I am bring ing a flood — flood wa ters on the earth g to de stroy ev ery crea ture un der heav en with the breath of life

a 6:8 Gn 19:19; Ex 33:17; Lk 1:30

b 6:9 Gn 2:4c Ps 37:39; 2Pt 2:5d Gn 17:1; Dt 18:13; Jb 1:1

e Gn 5:22f 6:12 Jb 22:15-17; Ps 14:2-3; 53:2-3

g 6:17 Gn 7:4; 2Pt 2:5

A 6:11 Or injustice, also in v. 13 B 6:14 Unknown species of tree; perhaps pine or cypress C 6:15 Or 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high D 6:16 Or window, or hatch ; Hb uncertain E 6:16 Lit to a cubit

6:8 This contrast to the rest of humanity an-ticipates Noah’s contrasting destiny. The word favor means undeserved blessing given by a powerful being to one who is less powerful. Noah did not earn his salvation, but his life did demonstrate that he possessed saving faith (Heb 11:7). A wordplay exists in Hebrew between the words for “Noah” and “favor,” as both contain the same two consonants but use them in reverse order: n-ch/ch-n.6:9-10 The family records of Noah is the third of eleven (Hb) toledoth sections in Genesis (2:4; 5:1; 10:1; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2).6:11-12 Within these two verses three di�er-ent forms of the verb corrupt are used to de-scribe what humanity had done to itself and the world in Noah’s day. The Hebrew word translated “corrupt” means “to bring to ruin, to destroy.”6:13 For the first time in the Bible—but by no means the last (18:17; Am 3:7)—God is shown expressing to one person what his intentions were for others. Noah is thus established as a prophet, a role that he would faithfully fulfill (2Pt 2:5). As indicated first in Gn 6:5-7, God would put an end to every creature . . . because of human sin. But judgment would not be limited to people; God would also destroy . . . the earth. Sadly, one of the victims of human sin is the earth on which we live (Lv 26:18-20; Is 24:4-7; Jr 12:11; Hs 4:1-3).6:14 Because of God’s grace (v. 8) and Noah’s relationship with God (v. 9), Noah and his family would be saved in an ark, along with the land and air animals. The Hebrew term translated “ark” is used only in the Noah account and the story of Moses’s early childhood (Ex 2:3); as used in the Bible it refers to a watertight vessel used to preserve human life from impending disas-ter. Gopher is the transliteration of a Hebrew word whose meaning is unknown; gopher wood may be pine or cypress or something extinct.6:15 Noah was to make the ark rectangular and barge-like in

shape, six times longer than it was wide, and ten times longer than it was high. These ratios have been used to produce seaworthy cra� for centuries. In the Hebrew text the measure-ments are expressed as “cubits,” a cubit being the length from a person’s elbow to the end of the fully extended middle finger—about eigh-teen inches. The 450-foot length made the ark the largest ship known to be constructed in an-cient times. The ark was to contain an unspec-ified number of rooms—literally, “nests”—and was to have two layers of pitch, (that is, asphalt or bitumen) painted over the boards.6:16 The Hebrew word translated roof can also be translated “window” or “hatch.” If the term means “roof,” then the text probably indicates that it was to extend eighteen inches over the sides of the boat. If the term means “window,” then it refers to an eighteen-inch high gap sep-arating the four sides of the boat from its roof.6:17 Only a�er he commanded Noah to make the ark did God tell him why it was to be built: God was bringing a flood—a term used only in connection with the massive, all-destroying flood in Noah’s day. Everything on earth will perish. The biblical language here and else-where in Gn 6–8 most naturally indicates that

Noah’s flood covered the entire globe. The apostle Peter seems to a�irm this (2Pt 2:5; 3:6). That the flood was global has been the dominant Christian understanding through-out history and remains so today. Defenders of this view o�er models to explain the flood’s impact on the geological column. They also tackle questions such as how much water was required to flood the entire globe. If geogra-phy today reflects pre-flood geography, scien-tists estimate that Earth would have needed four times the current quantity of water for the flood to cover the highest mountains (Gn 7:19-20). In this light some defenders of a global flood have suggested that pre-flood geography di�ered from today’s geography. Specifically, they suggest that Earth’s land-scape was flatter in the pre-flood era, thus requiring less water to flood, and that the violent flood created many of today’s geo-graphical and geological features. Others take a di�erent approach, suggesting that pre- and post-flood geography is largely the same, that the flood did indeed require a greater quan-tity of water than is now present on Earth, and that by an unknown mechanism Earth’s quantity of water has greatly diminished a�er

the flood.Citing the flexible application

of some terms used to describe the flood (e.g., kol ha’arets is rendered as “throughout the earth” in 7:3 but legitimately can refer to limited areas of land), the inclusion of details that could indicate a regional flood (e.g., the dove returning with a “plucked olive leaf” in its beak just as soon as the waters subsided despite the fact that low-lying areas where olive trees now grow would have been fully submerged for roughly a year, 8:11), and the di�iculty of finding traces of a global flood in earth’s geological record, some evangel-icals conclude that Noah’s flood covered only that portion of the earth that was inhabited by humans. In this view the flood destroyed all humans except

tamiymHebrew pronunciation [tah MEEM]CSB translation blameless, mature, perfectUses in Genesis 2Uses in the OT 91Focus passage Genesis 6:9

Tamiym, an adjective from tamam, “be complete,” has both physical and spiritual significance. Fi�y-one occurrences describe animals as unblemished (Ex 12:5) or without blemish, thus qualified to be sacrificial victims. Related ideas are entire (Lv 3:9), complete (Lv 23:15), whole (Pr 1:12; Ezk 15:5), and full (Lv 25:30). A frequent spiritual meaning is blameless, devout, or upright (Gn 6:9; 17:1; Jb 12:4). A synonym is yashar (“upright”; Pr 2:21). This is God’s standard for human behavior (Dt 18:13) echoed in the NT by the word translated “perfect” (teleios) in Mt 5:48. Tamiym means perfect when describing God’s ways, knowledge, or word (Dt 32:4; 2Sm 22:31; Jb 37:16). He can make our way perfect (2Sm 22:33). Tamiym can function nominatively as integrity or sincerity (Jos 24:14; Am 5:10), and adverbially as honestly (Jdg 9:16).

16GENESIS 6:8

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25

A reconstruction of the ark Noah built. The dimensions of the ark made it eminently seaworthy. The vessel in the Epic of Gilgamesh, an account of a flood that has some parallels to Noah’s, is a cube. Such a vessel would have rolled over at the slightest disturbance.

in it. Ev ery thing on earth will per ish. ¹⁸ But I will es tab lish my cov enant with you, a and you will en ter the ark with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives. ¹⁹ You are also to bring into the ark two of all the liv ing crea-tures, male and fe male, to keep them alive with you. ²⁰ Two of ev ery thing — from the birds ac cord ing to their kinds, from the live-stock ac cord ing to their kinds, and from the an i mals that crawl on the ground ac cord ing to their kinds — will come to you so that you can keep them alive. ²¹ Take with you ev ery kind of food that is eat en; gath er it as food for you and for them.” ²² And Noah did this.

He did ev ery thing that God had com mand-ed him. b

ENTERING THE ARK

7 Then the L ORD said to Noah, “En ter the ark, you and all your house hold, for I have

seen that you alone are righ teous be fore me in this gen er a tion. c ² You are to take with you sev en pairs, a male and its fe male, of all the clean an i mals, d and two of the an i-mals that are not clean, a male and its fe-male, ³ and sev en pairs, male and fe male, of the birds of the sky — in or der to keep off-spring alive through out the earth. ⁴ Sev en

a 6:18 Gn 9:9-16; 17:7b 6:22 Gn 7:5c 7:1 Mt 24:38-39; Lk 17:26-27; Heb 11:7

d 7:2 Gn 8:20; Lv 11:1-31; Dt 14:3-20

the persons on Noah’s ark, but did not need to cover the whole globe to do so, since the flood of Noah occurred before the dispersion of the nations in Gn 10.6:18 The term covenant refers to a binding, formal agreement between two parties—a sort of treaty, pact, or contract.6:19 God’s preservation of Noah meant that earth and humanity would still need the ecological support network of animals. Con-sequently, Noah was to bring into the ark one male and one female of all the living creatures. Representatives of all vulnerable species were to be preserved.6:20-21 Noah would not have to go on safaris to collect the various animals. They would come to him so he could keep them alive. On at least three other occasions in the Bible God directed animals to go to people (Ex 16:13; Nm 11:31; 1Kg 17:2-6).

6:22 As other heroic men of the Bible would do in later times—Moses and Aaron (Ex 7:6), Aaron’s sons (Lv 8:36), Joshua (Jos 11:9), Gideon (Jdg 6:27), Samuel (1Sm 16:4), Da-vid (2Sm 5:25), and Elijah (1Kg 17:5)—Noah did everything that God had commanded him. An undetermined amount of time had passed between this verse and the previ-ous verses in this chapter. Certainly the construction of the ark would have been a lengthy endeavor.7:1 Following the ark’s completion, the LORD gave Noah the order to begin the complex process of boarding the craft. Because of Noah’s righteous walk with God he and his household would be saved. The concept of sparing many because of the righteousness of a few occurs elsewhere in the Bible (18:24-32).7:2-3 While one male and one female of ev-ery species of air and land animal were to be

taken aboard the ark, all the clean animals—both those of the land and among the birds of the sky—were to have seven pairs of males and females onboard. The concept of clean animals is explained elsewhere in the Torah (Lv 11:1-46); essentially, these were animals that were fit for human consumption and could be o�ered as sacrifices to God. On the meaning of throughout the earth, see note at 6:17.7:4 The advance warning God gave Noah here about the onset of rain was necessary, for it almost certainly would have taken sev-en days to finish boarding the ark. Loading, securing, and tending to the dietary needs of all the wild animals onboard the three-level barge-like structure was a complicated and dangerous task.

Here rain was the mechanism for the deadly act of judgment that would wipe off

17 GENESIS 7:4

01_Gen.indd 17 28/10/16 12.39

days from now I will make it rain on the earth for ty days and for ty nights, and ev ery liv ing thing I have made I will wipe off the face of the earth.” ⁵ And Noah did ev ery thing that the L ORD com mand ed him. a

⁶ Noah was six hun dred years old when the flood came and wa ter cov ered the earth. ⁷ So Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives en tered the ark be cause of the flood wa ters. ⁸ From the clean an i mals, un clean an i mals, birds, and ev ery crea ture that crawls on the ground, ⁹ two of each, male and fe male, came to Noah and en tered the ark, just as God had com mand ed him. ¹⁰ Sev en days lat er the flood-wa ters came on the earth.

THE FLOOD¹¹ In the six hun dredth year of Noah’s life, in the sec ond month, on the sev en teenth day of the month, on that day all the sources of the vast wa tery depths burst open, b the flood-gates of the sky were opened, c ¹² and the rain fell on the earth for ty days and for ty nights. ¹³ On that same day Noah along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Ja pheth, Noah’s wife, and his three sons’ wives en tered the ark with him. ¹⁴ They en tered it with all the wildlife ac cord-ing to their kinds, all live stock ac cord ing to their kinds, all the crea tures that crawl on the earth ac cord ing to their kinds, ev ery fly ing crea ture — all the birds and ev ery winged

A reproduction of tablet eleven of the Epic of Gilgamesh, a Babylonian account of the great flood.

a 7:5 Gn 6:22b 7:11 Gn 8:2; Pr 8:28; Am 9:6

c 2Kg 7:19; Ps 78:23; Is 24:18; Mal 3:10

from the face of the earth . . . every living thing. Elsewhere in the OT God caused burn-ing sulfur (19:24) and hailstones (Ex 9:18,23) to “rain” from the sky as a mechanism of judgment against sinners. The rains would continue unabated for forty days and forty nights. The number forty played a signifi-cant role throughout the OT: Isaac and Esau were forty when they married (25:20; 26:34), Moses was on Mount Sinai forty days and nights receiving the law from God (Ex 24:18; 34:28; Dt 9:11,18,25), Israel spent forty years in the wilderness following their disobedi-ence (Nm 32:13), the Philistines oppressed Israel for forty years (Jdg 13:1), and several

judges and kings ruled over Israel for forty years (Othniel, Jdg 3:11; Deborah, Jdg 5:31; Gideon, Jdg 8:28; Eli, 1Sm 4:8; David, 2Sm 5:4; Solomon, 1Kg 11:42; Joash, 2Kg 12:1; Saul, Ac 13:21).7:5 This is parallel to 6:22.7:6-10 Noah’s age at the onset of the flood—six hundred years old—will be used to indi-cate the duration of the flood (8:13). No other human a�er Noah will be said to live to this age. On the scope of the flood, see note at 6:17.

Seven days later, exactly when God said it would occur, the floodwaters began.7:11 Water came from two di�erent sourc-es—one below and one above. Exactly what

is meant by all the sources of the vast watery depths is unknown; the phrase appears to re-fer to a massive outflow of pressurized water from underground sources that burst out of the ground with devastating e�ect. No known phenomenon in nature today corresponds to this description.7:12 Exactly as God had indicated (v. 4), the rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. God’s word to Noah is once again shown to be trustworthy.7:13-15 The same day Noah completed the task of loading the ark; that is, the seventh day (v. 10) a�er God’s command was given, Noah and his family entered the ark.

18GENESIS 7:5

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27



THE FLOOD RECEDES





a 7:22 Gn 2:7b 7:23 1Pt 3:20; 2Pt 2:5

c 8:1 Gn 19:29; Ex 2:24; 1Sm 1:19; Ps 105:42

d Ex 14:21; 15:10; Jb 12:15; Ps 29:10; Is 44:27; Nah 1:4

e 8:2 Gn 7:11f 8:3 Gn 7:24g 8:4 2Kg 19:37; Is 37:38; Jr 51:27





19 GENESIS 8:14

01_Gen.indd 19 28/10/16 12.39



THE FLOOD RECEDES





a 7:22 Gn 2:7b 7:23 1Pt 3:20; 2Pt 2:5

c 8:1 Gn 19:29; Ex 2:24; 1Sm 1:19; Ps 105:42

d Ex 14:21; 15:10; Jb 12:15; Ps 29:10; Is 44:27; Nah 1:4

e 8:2 Gn 7:11f 8:3 Gn 7:24g 8:4 2Kg 19:37; Is 37:38; Jr 51:27





19 GENESIS 8:14

01_Gen.indd 19 28/10/16 12.39

THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITY OF THE OLD TESTAMENTKenneth A. Kitchen

“R eliability” is the quality of being dependable and truthful. Is the Old Testament (OT) reliable in what it says about God’s dealings with

humanity in the ancient Near East? Discoveries from that early world often illustrate the factual reality of OT history.

PRIMEVAL HISTORYShared memories represent one proof of the reliability of the OT. Far antiquity saw the passing of countless

human generations, but they kept a living memory of momentous events. For instance, other cultures told stories that are strikingly similar to Noah’s fl ood. This is indirect proof for the reliability of the OT. The Genesis schema of documenting creation and listing two sets of eight or ten representative generations living before and after the fl ood also fi nds commonality in ancient Sumerian and Babylonian literature. This demonstrates that the OT fi ts the literary forms and practices of the era it documents. Finally, long lives like Methuselah’s 969 years are no bar to personal historicity; ancient Sumerian documents maintain that King (En)-me-bara-gisi reigned for 900 years. The 900-year reign is not credible, but King (En)-me-bara-gisi was not fi ctional. He is known to be historical because archaeologists have discovered inscriptions bearing his name. It was a widespread ancient convention to “stretch” spans of true events and ages of people that hailed from primeval times.

PATRIARCHAL HISTORYWith Abraham we enter the era of the patriarchs (ca 2000–1600 BC). Historical records are more plentiful from this point on in history. The patriarchs herded sheep and cattle, ranging from Ur (modern Iraq) down to Egypt. Data from Ur during this era record large fl ocks of sheep, which fi ts with OT depictions. Archives from Mari mention Haran, where Abraham once lived. From the time of Abraham down to Jacob, Canaan was a land of independent “city-states” like Shechem, (Jeru)salem, and Gerar. These population centers were sustained by pastures, frequented by local herdsmen and visitors like Abraham and his descendants (Gn 37:12-13). Egyptian “execration-texts” provide extrabiblical evidence of this practice. The war between the Canaanite kings and eastern rulers from Babylonia (Shinar, Ellasar—see Gn 14) and Iranian Elam is true to this period. The Mari archives verify that this was the only period in which Elam’s forces reached so far west and when many war alliances fl ourished. Patriarchal customs involving things like marriage and covenant-formation refl ect this period, as does the sum of 20 shekels paid to purchase Joseph (Gn 37:28). Egyptian details mentioned in the OT (personal names, deadly famines, the practice of “reading” dreams, etc.) match what is learned about Egypt from other ancient sources.

In Egypt the enslaved Hebrews labored to build cities such as Rameses and Pithom. One view is that this took place under Ramesses II (1279–1213 BC). Another view is that the exodus took place around 1446 BC. Archaeology reveals that Rameses included

The Merneptah Stele (above) dates to the late thirteenthth century BC. Pharaoh Merneptah (1212–1203 BC) memorializes his victories against Libya and in Canaan on this granite stele. Outside the Bible, this is the earliest reference to Israel to date: “Israel is laid waste, its seed is not.” The Merneptah Stele was discovered in 1896 by Flinders Petrie at Thebes and is currently in the Cairo Museum, Egypt.

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29

chariotry-stables (see Ex 14:25). During the exodus from Egypt, God led the Hebrews not by the nearby northern route to Canaan (cp. Ex 13:17-18), which was infested with Egyptian military stations, but by Mount Sinai, which was safely south of Egyptian control.

The covenant Moses mediated between God and Israel at Mount Sinai includes features (historical introduction, identification of witnesses, the naming of covenant blessings and curses) that refl ect known usage in the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BC, and the tabernacle (Ex 25:9; 26:1� ) echoes a long regional tradition (ca 2800–1000 BC) of building sacred tents and sanctuaries. By 1209 BC, tribal Israel was already in Canaan. Extrabiblical proof for this is found on Pharaoh Merneptah’s Victory Stele.

HISTORICAL ISRAELAfter the troubled times of the judges, Saul, David, and Solomon ruled Israel. “The House of David” is named on an Aramean stele from Dan, and likewise on the stele of Mesha, king of Moab. Less than 50 years after David, the place-name “Heights of Davit” (Egyptians used t for fi nal d) is included in the geographic list of Palestine drawn up for Shoshenq I (“Shishak” ca 924 BC). The design of Solomon’s temple refl ected trends that were current in neighboring Syria, though the temple’s décor was modest by comparison. Solomon’s wisdom-writings fi t his epoch in format and content.After Solomon’s death (930 BC), Israel and Judah split into two kingdoms. The Assyrians advanced southward and came into repeated contact with Hebrew rulers. Thus Ahab and Jehu of Israel are mentioned in texts of Shalmaneser III, while his successors mention Jehoash, Menahem, Pekah, and Hoshea. We have Hebrew seals identifying servants of Jeroboam II and Hoshea. From Judah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah are included on o� icial seal-impressions, while Assyrian records name (Jeho)-ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh. All these kings appear in the same sequence and epochs in both biblical and Assyrian records.

Mesha of Moab left a stele mentioning Omri and Ahab of Israel. In turn, the narratives in Kings and Chronicles mention, in correct periods and order, the following kings of Egypt: Shoshenq I [Shishak], Osorkon IV [So], Taharqa [Tirhakah], Necho (II), and Hophra [Apries]. Also mentioned are Assyrian rulers Tiglath-pileser III, Shalmaneser (V), Sargon (II), Sennacherib, and Esar-haddon. Finally, the Babylonian rulers Merodach-baladan (II), Nebuchadrezzar (II), and Evil-Merodach are named. Various events are documented in both biblical and external sources through 200 years for Israel and 340 years for Judah. The falls of Samaria (722/720 BC) and Judah (605–597 BC) are mentioned in Assyrian and Babylonian chronicles respectively.

We have discovered ration-tablets from Babylon for the banished Judean king Jehoiachin and his family for 594–570 BC. The well-documented Persian triumph in 539 BC enabled many exiles to return to Judah and rebuild Jerusalem and its temple, just as the OT says. Other biblical fi gures now verifi ed through archaeological discoveries include: Sanballat I of Samaria from Aramaic papyri; the later family of Tobiah of Ammon from tombs at Iraq al-Amir; and Gashmu/Geshem as an Arabian king in Qedar, from a bowl belonging to his son Qaynu.

The historicity of the OT should be taken seriously. As for the OT text itself, the Dead Sea Scrolls (ca 150 BC–AD 70) provide good evidence of a carefully transmitted core-text tradition through almost a thousand years down to the Masoretic scribes (ca eighth–tenth centuries AD). Thus, the basic text of OT Scripture can be established as essentially soundly transmitted, and the evidence shows that the form and content of the OT fi t with known literary and cultural realities of the ancient Near East. For more, see K. A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament.

The House of David Inscription is the earliest reference to David outside the Bible. This inscription was part of a victory monument erected by an Aramean king in the ninth century BC. He celebrates victories over a “king of Israel” and a king of the “House of David”—a reference to Ju-dah. This artifact was discovered in 1994 at Tell Dan in Northern Israel. It resides currently in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

01_Gen.indd 21 28/10/16 12.39

the twenty-seventh day of the sec ond month, the earth was dry.

THE LORD’S PROMISE¹⁵ Then God spoke to Noah, ¹⁶ “ Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁷ Bring out all the liv-ing crea tures A that are with you — birds, live-stock, those that crawl on the earth — and they will spread over the earth and be fruit ful and mul ti ply on the earth.” a ¹⁸ So Noah, along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, came out. ¹⁹ All the an i mals, all the crea tures that crawl, and all the fly ing crea tures — ev-ery thing that moves on the earth — came out of the ark by their fam i lies.

²⁰ Then Noah built an al tar to the L ORD. He took some of ev ery kind of clean an i mal and ev ery kind of clean bird and o� ered burnt of-fer ings on the al tar. ²¹ When the L ORD smelled the pleas ing aro ma, b he said to him self, “ I will nev er again curse the ground c be cause of hu-man be ings, even though the in cli na tion of the hu man heart is evil from youth onward. d And I will nev er again strike down ev ery liv-ing thing as I have done. e ²² As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,

summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.” f

GOD’S COVENANT WITH NOAH

9 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “ Be fruit ful and mul ti ply and fill the

earth. g ² The fear and ter ror of you will be in ev ery liv ing crea ture on the earth, ev ery bird of the sky, ev ery crea ture that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed un der your au thor i ty. B ³ Ev ery crea ture that lives and moves will be food for you; h as I gave the green plants, I have giv en you ev-ery thing. i ⁴ How ev er, you must not eat meat with its life blood in it. j ⁵ And I will re quire a pen al ty for your life blood; C I will re quire it from any an i mal k and from any hu man; if some one mur ders a fel low hu man, I will re-quire that per son’s life. D,l

⁶ Whoever sheds human blood, by humans his blood will be shed, m for God made humans in his image. n⁷ But you, be fruit ful and mul ti ply; spread out over the earth and mul ti ply on it.” o

⁸ Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, ⁹ “Un der stand that I am es tab lish ing my cov enant p with you and your de scen dants af-ter you, ¹⁰ and with ev ery liv ing crea ture that

a 8:17 Gn 1:22,28; 9:1b 8:21 Ex 29:18; Lv 1:9; Ezk 16:19; 20:41; 2Co 2:15; Eph 5:2; Php 4:18

c Gn 3:17; 5:29; 6:7; Is 54:9

d Gn 6:5; Ps 51:5; Jr 17:9; Rm 1:21; 3:23; Eph 2:1-3

e Gn 9:11,15f 8:22 Jr 33:20,25g 9:1 Gn 1:28; 8:17; 9:7; 35:11

h 9:3 Dt 12:15; 1Tm 4:3-4

i 9:1-3 Gn 1:28-30j 9:4 Lv 3:17; 7:20; 17:10-16; 19:26; Dt 12:16,23; 15:23; 1Sm 14:34; Ac 15:20,29

k 9:5 Ex 21:28l Gn 4:2,8m 9:6 Ex 21:12-14; Lv 24:17; Nm 35:33; Mt 26:52

n Gn 1:26-27o 9:7 Gn 1:28p 9:9 Gn 6:18; 8:22; 17:2; Ex 6:4; 19:5; Lv 26:9

A 8:17 Lit creatures of all flesh B 9:2 Lit are given in your hand C 9:5 Lit And your blood belonging to your life I will seek D 9:5 Lit any human; from the hand of a man his brother I will seek the life of the human.

drying. Some fi�y-seven days (one 29½ day cycle of the moon plus 27 days) later, the earth was dry.8:15-19 Perhaps this is the first time God had spoken to Noah since before the flood; during the entire year of the catastrophic flood no record shows that God communicated direct-ly with the patriarch or his family. What faith Noah demonstrated during that terrifying time in the ark’s dark interior!8:20 Noah’s first act following his departure from the ark was to worship God by giving a burnt o�ering. Since every kind of clean an-imal and bird—that is, one of every mammal that chewed the cud and possessed split hoofs, as well as one representative of every kind of bird that did not eat carrion—was o�ered, it must have been an impressive sacrifice.8:21 Using anthropomorphic language—words that describe God’s actions in human terms—the text notes that the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma. The phrase means that God accepted Noah’s sacrifice. Elsewhere in the Torah, God’s refusal to smell a sacrifice meant he rejected the offering (Lv 26:31). Acceptable offerings in other parts of the Bible are said to have a pleasing aroma (Ex 29:25; Lv 1:9; 2:2; 3:16; Nm 18:17). Follow ing Noah’s sacrifice the Lord made a solemn promise never again to curse the ground as he had done following Adam’s sin (Gn 3:17; 5:29). Almost with a sense of resignation, God noted that the inclination of the human heart was evil from youth

onward (Ps 14:1; Rm 3:9,23). The flood did not significantly change the human heart (cp. Gn 6:5). Yet in spite of humanity’s sinful nature, God’s grace and love would prevail: He would never again destroy all life as he had done in Noah’s day.8:22 The terrifying chaos of the flood would give way to the predictable, comforting rhythms of life—the harvest, the seasons, day and night—for as long as the earth endures.9:1-2 This blessing fortifies the parallels be-tween Noah and Adam (1:28), as both bless-ings began with the command to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. However, in Noah’s day the blessing is altered. Mankind is still to take dominion over creation (1:28), but due to the presence of sin, the harmony that existed in the garden of Eden had ended; now animals were filled with the fear and terror of humans. Terrorized animals can be danger-ous; even so, God placed the animals under people’s authority, ensuring that humans would prevail over the animal kingdom.9:3 The original dietary regulations given to Adam and Eve (1:29) were now expanded. An-imal proteins would join green plants within the human diet. The phrase referring to ani-mal food sources can be translated literally as “every creeping/gliding animal” and would normally be understood to refer to smaller animals on land or sea, but it is usually un-derstood here to mean every creature that moves. Israelites would later be limited to eating only clean animals (Lv 11).

9:4 Though meat would be permissible as food, blood would not. God required Noah and his o�spring to drain the lifeblood from any animal before eating it. This guideline would be expanded and clarified in Israel’s Sinai law code (Lv 7:26-27; 17:10-14; 19:26; Dt 12:16,24; 15:23). To avoid o�ending Jewish Christians, first-century Gentile Christians were also en-couraged not to eat blood (Ac 15:20,29).9:5-6 Because God made humans in his image, the taking of a human life by either an animal or another person was not treat-ed like the death of an animal. Any animal and any human who killed a human was to have its own blood . . . shed . . . by humans as a just punishment. This verse establishes that unauthorized taking of a human life is a capital o�ense and implicitly authorizes properly credentialed authorities to execute murderers. Other verses in the law of Moses reinforced this concept (Ex 20:13; 21:23; Dt 19:21). No such law exists for the killing of animals; the Bible consistently teaches that humans are of superior worth to animals.9:7 God’s blessing of humanity in Noah’s day begins (v. 1) and ends with the command to be fruitful and multiply. This repetition un-derscores the sacredness and desirability of human reproduction within God’s plan.9:8-11 These verses are the formal conclusion of the covenant first mentioned in 6:18. The ini-tial expression of the covenant unconditionally o�ered safety in the ark to Noah’s family and many classes of animals. In the style of a royal

22GENESIS 8:15

01_Gen.indd 22 28/10/16 12.39

31

is with you — birds, live stock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you — all the an-i mals of the earth that came out of the ark. ¹¹ I es tab lish my cov enant with you that nev-er again will ev ery crea ture be wiped out by flood wa ters; there will nev er again be a flood to de stroy the earth.” a

¹² And God said, “ This is the sign of the cov-enant b I am mak ing be tween me and you and ev ery liv ing crea ture with you, a cov enant for all fu ture gen er a tions: ¹³ I have placed my bow in the clouds, c and it will be a sign of the cov-enant be tween me and the earth. ¹⁴ When ev-er I form clouds over the earth and the bow ap pears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will re mem ber my cov enant d be tween me and you and all the liv ing crea tures: A wa ter will nev er again be-come a flood to de stroy ev ery crea ture. ¹⁶ The bow will be in the clouds, and I will look at it and re mem ber the per ma nent cov enant e be tween God and all the liv ing crea tures B on earth.” ¹⁷ God said to Noah, “ This is the sign of the cov enant that I have es tab lished be tween me and ev ery crea ture on earth.”

PROPHECIES ABOUT NOAH’S FAMILY¹⁸ Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Ja pheth. Ham was the fa ther of Ca naan. ¹⁹ These three were Noah’s sons, and from them the whole earth was populated. f

²⁰ Noah, as a man of the soil, be gan by plant-ing C a vine yard. ²¹ He drank some of the wine, be came drunk, and un cov ered him self in side his tent. ²² Ham, the fa ther of Ca naan, saw his fa ther na ked and told his two broth ers out-side. g ²³ Then Shem and Ja pheth took a cloak and placed it over both their shoul ders, and walk ing back ward, they cov ered their fa ther’s na ked ness. Their fac es were turned away, and they did not see their fa ther na ked.

²⁴ When Noah awoke from his drink ing and learned what his youn gest son had done to him, ²⁵ he said: Canaan is cursed. h He will be the lowest of slaves

to his brothers. i²⁶ He also said: Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; Let Canaan be D Shem’s slave. ²⁷ Let God extend Japheth; E

let Japheth dwell in the tents of Shem; let Canaan be Shem’s slave.

²⁸ Now Noah lived 350 years af ter the flood. ²⁹ So Noah’s life last ed 950 years; then he died.


10 These are the fam i ly rec ords j of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Ja pheth. They also

had sons af ter the flood.

a 9:11 Is 54:9-10b 9:12 Gn 17:11c 9:13 Ezk 1:28; Rv 4:3; 10:1

d 9:15 Lv 26:42,45; Dt 7:9; 1Kg 8:23; Ezk 16:60

e 9:16 Gn 17:13; 2Sm 23:5; 1Ch 16:17; Is 24:5

f 9:19 Gn 9:1,7; 10:32; 1Ch 1:4

g 9:22 Lm 4:21; Hab 2:15

h 9:25 Dt 27:16i Jos 9:23; Jdg 1:28; 1Kg 9:20-21

j 10:1 Gn 2:4

A 9:15 Lit and creatures of all flesh B 9:16 Lit creatures of all flesh C 9:20 Or Noah began to be a farmer and planted D 9:26 As a wish or prayer; others interpret the verbs in vv. 26-27 as prophecy: Canaan will be . . . E 9:27 In Hb, the name Japheth sounds like the word “extend.”

grant or unilateral agreement, this portion of the Noahic covenant unconditionally promises that there will never again be a flood of the same destructive scale as Noah’s flood.9:12-17 Accompanying the covenant was a visible confirmation of the agreement be-tween God and the earth that would continue for all future generations: God’s bow in the clouds represented his promise that he would never again send a flood to destroy every creature. From this point forward the rainbow would have profound significance as an a�ir-mation of God’s grace and peace. Elsewhere in the Bible the rainbow is associated with the presence of God or his angelic representative (Ezk 1:28; Rv 4:3; 10:1). This covenant is one of three in the Bible that were accompanied by a sign; the other signs were circumcision (Gn 17:11) and the Sabbath (Ex 31:16-17).9:18-19 Beginning with repeated material (5:32; 6:10), the writer launches into a new narrative designed to prepare readers for God’s judgment on the nation of Canaan. The familiar genealogy is extended with the note that Ham was the father of Canaan. At the same time v. 19 prepares readers for chap. 10.9:20 The parallels continue between Noah and Adam as Noah is now shown to be a farm-er (lit man of the soil [Hb ’adamah]) in the new world prepared for him by God.9:21 As Adam had sinned through the con-sumption of fruit (3:6), so Noah drank some of

the wine and became drunk. A�er sin entered the world, shattering innocence, nakedness was associated with shame (cp. 2:25; 3:10). In this case Noah brought the shame on himself through his sinful drunkenness. A minimum of two years likely elapsed between vv. 20 and 21 since grapevines must grow that long before they can produce grapes.9:22 Noah “uncovered himself,” and Ham saw Noah naked. This passage does not say that Ham “uncovered the nakedness of Noah,” which would be a euphemism for per-verted sexual activity (Lv 18:6-19). A parent’s sin o�en becomes a child’s stumbling block (Ex 34:7). In this case, Ham dishonored his fa-ther and thus sinned (Ex 20:12; Dt 5:16) in two ways: First, he dishonored his father by star-ing at his nakedness (Hab 2:15). Second, he increased both his sin and his father’s shame by reporting his father’s condition to others. Later, the law stipulated curses for dishonor-ing a parent (Ex 21:17; Dt 27:16).9:23 Shem and Japheth demonstrated their nobler natures by reacting to their father’s condition far differently from Ham. First, they did not look upon their father’s shame-ful condition. Second, they covered their father’s nakedness, thus ending his shame. Their action parallels God’s clothing of Adam following Adam’s sin (3:21).9:24-27 When Noah learned what his youn-gest son had done, he placed the curse on

Ham’s son, Canaan, who would be the lowest of slaves to his brothers, that is, the slave of the descendants of Shem and Japheth. This curse on Canaan had prophetic implications. In later centuries the Canaanites, the descen-dants of Canaan, were pressed into slavery by the Israelites (Jos 17:13; Jdg 1:28-35; 1Kg 9:20-21). This curse does not refer to the de-scendants of Ham who settled in Africa.9:28-29 Noah’s 950 years mark him as the third-oldest human in biblical history, behind Methuselah (969 years) and Jared (962 years).10:1 The family records of Noah’s sons is the fourth of eleven (Hb) toledoth sections in Gen-esis (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2). The purpose of this section is twofold: to show that Noah’s sons fulfilled the command to be fruitful, multiply, and spread out over the earth (9:7), and to distinguish the “unchosen” lines of Noah’s descendants (the Japhethites and Hamites) from the line that would be both the recipient and the agent of God’s special blessing to the rest of humanity (the Shem-ites). Gn 10:1-32 lists a total of seventy descen-dants in the family lines of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Seventy, a multiple of two numbers that suggest completeness (seven, the number of days of creation week; ten, the number of fingers), would have suggested to ancient Isra-elites a satisfying completeness to the quantity of persons and nations that came into being a�er the flood. This is labeled a list of clans,

23 GENESIS 10:1

01_Gen.indd 23 28/10/16 12.39

² Ja pheth’s sons: a Go mer, Ma gog, Mad ai, Ja van, Tu bal, Me shech, and Ti ras. ³ Go mer’s sons: Ash ke naz, Ri phath, and To gar mah. ⁴ And Ja van’s sons: Eli shah, Tar shish, b Kit-tim, and Dodanim. A ⁵ From these de scen-dants, the peo ples of the coasts and is lands spread out into their lands ac cord ing to their clans in their na tions, each with its own lan guage.

⁶ Ham’s sons: c Cush, Miz ra im, Put, and Ca-naan. ⁷ Cush’s sons: Seba, Hav i lah, Sab tah, Ra a mah, and Sab te ca. And Ra a mah’s sons: She ba and De dan.

⁸ Cush fa thered Nim rod, who be gan to be pow er ful in the land. ⁹ He was a pow er ful hunt-er in the sight of the L ORD. That is why it is said, “ Like Nim rod, a pow er ful hunt er in the sight of the L ORD.” ¹⁰ His king dom start ed with Bab ylon, d Erech, B Ac cad, C and Cal neh, D in the land of Shi nar. E,e ¹¹ From that land he went to As syr ia f and built Nin e veh, Re ho both-ir, Ca-lah, ¹² and Re sen, be tween Nin e veh and the great city Ca lah.

¹³ Miz ra im F,g fa thered the peo ple of Lud, Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh, ¹⁴ Pathrus, Casluh ( the Phi lis tines came from them), and Caph tor. h

a 10:2-5 1Ch 1:5-7; Ezk 38:1-6

b 10:4 1Kg 10:22; Is 2:16

c 10:6-7 1Ch 1:8-10d 10:10 Gn 11:9e Gn 11:2; 14:1f 10:11 Mc 5:6g 10:13-18 1Ch 1:11-16

h 10:14 Jr 47:4; Am 9:7

A 10:4 Some Hb mss, Sam, LXX read Rodanim ; 1Ch 1:7 B 10:10 Or Uruk C 10:10 Or Akkad D 10:10 Or and all of them E 10:10 Or in Babylonia F 10:13 = Egypt

languages, nations, and lands (vv. 5,20,31; cp. Rv 14:6). Thus some of the names refer to the regions where that person’s descendants set-tled; some refer to people groups.10:2-5 Fourteen of Japheth’s descendants are listed here. Peoples of the coasts and is-lands refers to people living in areas reachable by ship, especially in the Mediterranean basin. The fact that each group had its own language suggests that this listing refers to the situation a�er the Tower of Babylon event (11:1-9).10:6-7 Thirty of Ham’s descendants are in-cluded in this list. The geographic or ethnic identifications of most of the names have

been lost in history, but they are associated with regions in Africa and Arabia. Mizraim is the Hebrew word for Egypt. Havilah probably refers to a di�erent geographic region than the Havilah of 2:11. Two di�erent persons by the name of Sheba are listed in Genesis genealo-gies (v. 28; 25:3); Dedan is also found in 25:3. It is best to understand each of these as di�erent persons, and the founders of di�erent people groups.10:8-12 Nimrod . . . began to be powerful in the land, that is, he was successful as an aggressive empire builder. Like many other ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian kings,

he was also famous as a powerful hunter. Nimrod’s origins are from Cush, that is, Afri-ca; his empire was Asian, stretching across the Tigris-Euphrates river basin. The order of place names suggests that Nimrod’s empire expanded from south to north, and included Babylon and Nineveh, the capital cities of two of Israel’s most formidable future enemies. Shinar corresponds to the ancient regions of Sumer and Accad; Erech to ancient Uruk; Calah to Nimrod; Rehoboth-ir may be ancient Asshur.10:15-20 The most complex portion of the Hamite list is the Canaan branch, with eleven

Akkad

Babylon Erech

NinevehCalah

Arpachshad

Tigris

R. Euphrates

R.

Nile

R.

LakeUrmia

LakeVanAEGEAN

SEA

M E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A

R E D

S E A

ARABIAN SEA

PERSIANGULF

CASPIANSEA

BLACKSEA

LibyanPlateau

QattaraDepression

SinaiAn-Nafud

Desert

S y r o -

A r a b i a n

D e s e r t

S a h a r a D e s e r t

Asia Minor

Anatolian Plateau

Pontus

Elburz Mts.

Great Salt DesertZagros M

ountains

Plateauof

Iran

Taurus

Mts.

Areaenlarged

below

LUD

EBERPELEG

ASSHURARAM

MASHELAM

HAVILAH

SHELEPH

UZAL

OBA

L

OPHIR

HAZARMAVETH

JOKTAN

UZ

HUL

JOBA

B

CAPHTORIM

LEHABIMPUT

CUSH

DEDAN

PATHRUSIM

RAAMAH

SEBA

CA

NA

AN

HETH

SHINAR

HAMATHITES

NAPHTUHIM

HAVILAH

SHEBA

SABTAH

LUDIM

CASLUHIM

MIZR

AIM

MESHECH

RHODANIM

ELISHAHKITTIM

TIRAS

TARSHISH

JAVA

N

MAGOG GOMERRIPHATH

MADAI

ASHKENAZ

TOGARMAHTUBAL

H A M

S H E M

J A P H E T H

10 E 20 E 30 E 40 E 50 E

30 N

20 N

60 E

50 E40 E30 E20 E

30 N

40 N

0 400 Miles

0 400 Kilometers

200

200


City

City (uncertain location)

Descendants of Japheth

Descendants of Ham

Descendants of Shem

PUT

UZAL

LUD

Genesis 10

ARVADITESZEMARITES

ARKITESSINITES

SIDONIANSAMORITESPERIZZITESHITTITESHIVITES

JEBUSITESGIRGASHITES

CA

NA

AN

Entire inset area dominated by

the descendantsof Ham

The Table of Nations shows that the Bible is firmly based on historical events. It provides the historical context for understanding Abraham, whose family became a nation through whom God would bless all peoples of the earth.

24GENESIS 10:2

01_Gen.indd 24 28/10/16 12.39

33

¹⁵ Ca naan fa thered Si don his first born and Heth, ¹⁶ as well as the Jeb u sites, the Am o rites, the Gir ga shites, a ¹⁷ the Hi vites, the Ar kites, the Si nites, ¹⁸ the Ar vad ites, the Zem a rites, and the Ha math ites. Af ter ward the Ca naan ite clans scat tered. ¹⁹ The Ca naan ite bor der went from Si don go ing to ward Ge rar as far as Gaza, and go ing to ward Sod om, Go mor rah, Ad mah, and Ze boi im as far as La sha.

²⁰ These are Ham’s sons by their clans, ac-cord ing to their lan guages, in their lands and their na tions.

²¹ And Shem, Ja pheth’s old er broth er, also had sons. Shem was the fa ther of all the sons of Eber. b ²² Shem’s sons c were Elam, As shur, Ar pach shad, Lud, and Aram.

²³ Aram’s sons: Uz, Hul, Ge ther, and Mash.²⁴ Ar pach shad fa thered A She lah, d and She-

lah fa thered Eber. ²⁵ Eber had two sons. One was named Pe leg, B for dur ing his days the earth was di vid ed; e his broth er was named Jok tan. ²⁶ And Jok tan fa thered Al mo dad, She-leph, Ha zar ma veth, Je rah, ²⁷ Ha do ram, Uzal, Dik lah, ²⁸ Obal, Abim a el, She ba, ²⁹ Ophir, Hav-i lah, and Jo bab. All these were Jok tan’s sons. ³⁰ Their set tle ments ex tend ed from Me sha to Se phar, the east ern hill coun try.

³¹ These are Shem’s sons by their clans, ac-cord ing to their lan guages, in their lands and their na tions.

³² These are the clans of Noah’s sons, ac-cord ing to their fam i ly rec ords, in their na-tions. The na tions on earth spread out from these af ter the flood. f

THE TOWER OF BABYLON

11 The whole earth had the same lan guage and vo cab u lary. C ² As peo ple D migrated

from the east, E they found a val ley in the land of Shi nar and set tled there. g ³ They said to each oth er, “ Come, let us make oven-fired bricks.” ( They used brick for stone and asphalt h for mor tar.) ⁴ And they said, “ Come, let us build our selves a city and a tow er with its top in the sky. i Let us make a name for our selves; oth er wise, we will be scat tered through out the earth.”

⁵ Then the L ORD came down j to look over the city and the tow er that the humans F were build ing. ⁶ The L ORD said, “ If they have be gun to do this as one peo ple all hav ing the same lan guage, then noth ing they plan to do will be im pos si ble for them. ⁷ Come, let’s go down there and con fuse their lan guage so that they

a 10:16 Gn 15:19-21b 10:21 Gn 11:13-14c 10:22-29 1Ch 1:17-23

d 10:24 Gn 11:12; Lk 3:35

e 10:25 Gn 11:8; Ps 55:9

f 10:32 Gn 9:19g 11:2 Gn 10:10; 14:1; Dn 1:2

h 11:3 Gn 14:10; Ex 2:3i 11:4 Dt 1:28; 9:1; Ps 107:26

j 11:5 Gn 18:21; Ex 3:8; 19:11,18,20

A 10:24 LXX reads fathered Cainan, and Cainan fathered ; Gn 11:12-13; Lk 3:35-36 B 10:25 = Division C 11:1 Lit one lip and the same words D 11:2 Lit they E 11:2 Or migrated eastward F 11:5 Or the descendants of Adam

named descendants or people groups. The relative size and detail reinforces the signifi-cance of the Canaanites for later Israelite his-tory. This genealogical section indicates that many of the earliest inhabitants of Canaan were non-Semitic peoples.10:21-31 The genealogy of Shem, portions of which will be repeated in 11:10-17, represents the “chosen” line of Noah’s descendants. From Shem’s line will come Abraham, the Isra-elites, and ultimately Jesus. Larger and more complex than the Shemite genealogy in chap. 11 (26 vs. 12 names) this presentation di�ers from the other mainly in that it includes the “unchosen” branches of Shem’s lineage, es-pecially that of Joktan with his thirteen sons. The mention of all the sons of Eber brings at-tention to the point in Shem’s line where the “chosen” branch splits from the rest of the family. The word Hebrew is o�en understood to be derived from Eber’s name.

Names in the Shemite genealogy that scholars have linked to various people groups or locations include Elam, modern southwest Iran; Asshur, along the Tigris river in Iraq; Aram, eastern Iraq near the Iranian border; Uz, the Arabian peninsula or Edom; and Mash, central Asia Minor. All of the thirteen sons of Joktan that can be confidently connected to a location are associated with locations in the Arabian peninsula.

The name Ophir may not be connected with the Ophir mentioned elsewhere in Scrip-ture (1Kg 9:28; Jb 22:24; Ps 45:9) since the latter name appears to be a distant location, possibly in Africa or India. Joktan’s Havilah

should not be equated with Cush’s Havilah, though the two share the same name.10:21 The phrase Japheth’s older brother is di�icult in the Hebrew: several other versions (KJV, NKJV, NIV) understand it to mean that Japheth was the older brother.10:25 A wordplay exists between the name Peleg and the verbal phrase “was divided.” Both are based on the Hebrew sound se-quence p-l-g. Exactly what is meant by the earth was divided is uncertain. It may be a reference to the tower of Babylon event (11:9), a devastating earthquake, a large Mesopota-mian canal project, or a political division.11:1-9 The account of Adam and Eve’s sin in the garden of Eden (chap. 3) and the tower of Babylon narrative share many similarities in plot, vocabulary, and theme. Both show people acting with sinful pride to try to make themselves godlike, and both show God ex-pelling sinners from their homes as punish-ment for their sin.11:1 The tower of Babylon incident occurred earlier than at least some of the events of chap. 10 since the whole earth still had the same language and vocabulary (10:5,20,31).11:2 The land of Shinar corresponds to an-cient Babylonia and includes the region of the cities of Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Cal-neh (10:10). Migrated from the east can be translated “migrated eastward.”11:3 Unlike the original readers’ homeland of Israel, with its extensive quantity of limestone building material, the people of Babylonia used oven-fired bricks. Archaeological exca-vations have confirmed that ancient inhabi-

tants of the land used asphalt for mortar.11:4 The people’s pride and ambition is ex-pressed in three di�erent ways: (1) the five-fold use of the first-person pronouns—us (three times), ourselves (twice), and we; (2) their desire to build . . . a tower into the sky, thus giving them access to “the heavens,” the domain of God; and (3) their attempt at self-glorification—let us make a name for ourselves. Because they did it to avoid being scattered throughout the earth, all their ef-forts amounted to a rebellion against God and his command to fill the earth (9:1).11:5 In spite of their best e�orts to elevate themselves to God’s domain, the Lord still had to come down to look over the city and the tower. Human attempts to achieve glory, which belongs to God alone, always fall piti-fully short.11:6 God’s concern that nothing the people might plan to do would be impossible for them does not express a divine fear that hu-mans might someday become as powerful as God. Rather, it conveys dismay that people, unchecked, would undertake extraordinary deeds of evil and defiance.11:7 On God’s reference to himself in the plu-ral, see note at 1:26. Perhaps the most dramat-ic Hebrew wordplay in the tower of Babylon episode involves the deliberate reversal of sounds between vv. 3 and 7. Humans creat-ed brick—a word that contains the sound se-quence l-b-n in Hebrew—to rebel against God. In response God created confusion—a Hebrew word containing n-b-l—to reverse the evil hu-man plot.

25 GENESIS 11:7

01_Gen.indd 25 28/10/16 12.39

will not un der stand one an oth er’s speech.” ⁸ So from there the L ORD scat tered them through-out the earth, a and they stopped build ing the city. ⁹ There fore it is called Bab ylon, A,B,b for there the L ORD con fused the lan guage of the whole earth, and from there the L ORD scat-tered them through out the earth.

FROM SHEM TO ABRAM¹⁰ These are the fam i ly rec ords c of Shem. Shem lived 100 years and fa thered Ar pach-shad two years af ter the flood. ¹¹ Af ter he fa thered Ar pach shad, Shem lived 500 years and fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. ¹² Ar-pach shad lived 35 years C and fa thered She-lah. ¹³ Af ter he fa thered She lah, Ar pach shad lived 403 years and fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. ¹⁴ She lah lived 30 years and fa-thered Eber. ¹⁵ Af ter he fa thered Eber, She-lah lived 403 years and fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. ¹⁶ Eber lived 34 years and fa-thered Pe leg. ¹⁷ Af ter he fa thered Pe leg, Eber lived 430 years and fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. ¹⁸ Pe leg lived 30 years and fa thered Reu. ¹⁹ Af ter he fa thered Reu, Pe leg lived 209 years and fa thered oth er sons and daugh-ters. ²⁰ Reu lived 32 years and fa thered Se-rug. ²¹ Af ter he fa thered Se rug, Reu lived 207 years and fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. ²² Se rug lived 30 years and fa thered Na hor. ²³ Af ter he fa thered Na hor, Se rug lived 200 years and fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. ²⁴ Na hor lived 29 years and fa thered Te rah. d

²⁵ Af ter he fa thered Te rah, Na hor lived 119 years and fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. ²⁶ Te rah lived 70 years and fa thered Abram, Na hor, and Ha ran.

²⁷ These are the fam i ly rec ords of Te rah. Te-rah fa thered Abram, Na hor, and Ha ran, and Ha ran fa thered Lot. ²⁸ Ha ran died in his na-tive land, in Ur of the Chal de ans, dur ing his fa ther Te rah’s life time. ²⁹ Abram and Na hor took wives: Abram’s wife was named Sa rai, e and Na hor’s wife was named Mil cah. f She was the daugh ter of Ha ran, the fa ther of both Mil-cah and Is cah. ³⁰ Sa rai was un able to con ceive; g she did not have a child.

³¹ Te rah took his son Abram, his grand son Lot (Ha ran’s son), and his daughter-in-law Sa rai, his son Abram’s wife, and they set out to geth er from Ur of the Chal de ans h to go to the land of Ca naan. But when they came to Ha ran, they set tled there. ³² Te rah lived 205 years and died in Ha ran.

THE CALL OF ABRAM

12 The L ORD said to Abram:Go out from your land,

your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. i ² I will make you into a great nation, j I will bless you, k I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. l ³ I will bless those who bless you,

a 11:8 Gn 11:4; Ps 92:9; Lk 1:51

b 11:9 Gn 10:10c 11:10 Gn 2:4; 11:27d 11:24 Jos 24:2e 11:29 Gn 17:15; 20:12

f Gn 22:20,23; 24:15g 11:30 Gn 25:21; 29:31; Ex 23:26; Jdg 13:2-3; 1Sm 2:5; Jb 24:21; Is 54:1; Lk 1:36; 23:29; Gl 4:27; Heb 11:11

h 11:31 Gn 15:7; Neh 9:7; Ac 7:4

i 12:1 Gn 15:7; Ac 7:3; Heb 11:8

j 12:2 Gn 17:4-6; 18:18; 46:3; Dt 26:5

k Gn 22:17l Zch 8:13

A 11:9 Hb Babel B 11:9 In Hb, the name for “Babylon,” babel sounds like the word for “confuse,” balal. C 11:12-13 LXX reads years and fathered Cainan. ¹³After he fathered Cainan, Arpachshad lived 430 years and fathered other sons and daughters, and he died. Cainan lived 130 years and fathered Shelah. After he fathered Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and fathered other sons and daughters, and he died ; Gn 10:24; Lk 3:35-36

11:8 What the people did not want, to be “scattered” (v. 4), was what happened a�er all.11:9 Most English versions refer to “Babel” here, but this is the same Hebrew word translated “Babylon” throughout the OT. The connection between the words Babylon and confused (Hb babel and balal ) constitute an-other of the many wordplays in this chapter. The Lord’s action had two positive outcomes: first, because it confused the language of the whole earth, it ended the possibility of large-scale evil ventures; second, it caused humanity to scatter throughout the earth, thus bringing people into compliance with God’s command to fill the earth (9:1).11:10-26 The family records of Shem consti-tute the fi�h of eleven (Hb) toledoth sections in Genesis (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2). Whereas the previous toledoth section (“the family records of Noah’s sons,” 10:1–11:9) presented Noah’s “unchosen” descendants, this one traces the “chosen” o�spring.

This genealogical table, which partially repeats information provided in 10:21-25, connects Noah’s son Shem to Abram/Abra-ham. Though this list contains fewer names

(12 vs. 26) than the genealogy in chap. 10, it traces out more generations (10 vs. 6) and includes chronological data as well. Its style links it with the genealogy in chap. 5, which also traces the “chosen” line and contains ten generations. Whereas chap. 5 stretches from Adam to Noah (the pre-flood world), this table connects Seth to Abram/Abraham (the post-flood world).11:12 Departing from the Hebrew text, both Lk 3:35-36 and the septuagintal version of this verse indicate that Arpachshad’s actu-al son was Cainan. Because the inspired NT author confirms the Septuagint’s reading, Cainan should be accepted as Arpachshad’s son. Thus it is best to accept Arpachshad as Shelah’s father in an indirect sense, and to view the Hebrew version here as a stylized genealogy shaped for thematic purposes. A similar technique appears to have been used by Matthew in his presentation of Jesus’s ge-nealogy in Mt 1.11:17 Eber lived a total of 464 years. This dis-tinguishes him as the longest living person in the Bible who was born a�er the flood.11:27-30 The family records of Terah is the sixth of eleven (Hb) toledoth sections in Gen-

esis (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2). Far more than a simple genealogical ta-ble, this section stretches across parts of fi�een chapters and includes a rich supply of informa-tion about the life of Terah’s most famous son, Abram (later called Abraham). In the Hebrew, the spelling of the personal name Haran di�ers from the place name Haran (charan; v. 31).

Nahor’s wife . . . Milcah eventually pro-duced eight sons (22:20-23); her most famous son, Bethuel, became the father-in-law of Abraham’s son Isaac (25:20).

In contrast to Milcah, Sarai (later called Sar-ah) was unable to conceive. This painful fact is emphasized by the biblical writer restating the fact: she did not have a child. God’s provi-sion of an heir for Abraham in spite of Sarah’s barrenness is a major theme in the narratives that follow (15:2-4; 17:15-21; 21:10).11:31-32 Until Terah’s death Abram was un-der the authority of his father. No clue is given as to why Terah chose to leave Ur or why he decided to settle in Haran.12:1-3 According to Ac 7:2, the LORD spoke to Abram while he was still in Mesopotamia (Gn 11:31). God gave Abram a one-verb command with four aspects to it. Abram was to go out

26GENESIS 11:8

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35

The

dist

ance

from

Ur t

o H

aran

was

app

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mat

ely

700

mile

s. A

brah

am’s

jour

ney

from

Har

an to

Bet

hel w

as a

noth

er 7

00 m

iles.

27 GENESIS

01_Gen.indd 27 28/10/16 12.39

I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, a

and all the peoples A on earth will be blessed B through you. C,b

⁴ So Abram went, as the L ORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seven-ty-five years old when he left Ha ran. c ⁵ He took his wife Sa rai, his neph ew Lot, all the pos ses-sions they had ac cu mu lat ed, and the peo ple they had ac quired in Ha ran, and they set out for the land of Ca naan. When they came to the land of Ca naan, ⁶ Abram passed through the land to the site of She chem, d at the oak of Mo reh. ( At that time the Ca naan ites were in the land.) ⁷ The L ORD ap peared to Abram and said, “ To your o� spring e I will give this land.” So he built an al tar there to the L ORD who had ap peared to him. ⁸ From there he moved on to the hill coun try east of Beth el and pitched his tent, with Beth el on the west and Ai on the east. He built an al tar to the L ORD there, and he

called on the name of the L ORD. f ⁹ Then Abram jour neyed by stages to the Ne gev.

ABRAM IN EGYPT¹⁰ There was a fam ine in the land, g so Abram went down to Egypt to stay there for a while be cause the fam ine in the land was se vere. ¹¹ When he was about to en ter Egypt, he said to his wife Sa rai, “ Look, I know what a beau ti-ful wom an you are. ¹² When the Egyp tians see you, they will say, ‘ This is his wife.’ They will kill me but let you live. h ¹³ Please say you’re my sis ter so it will go well for me be cause of you, and my life will be spared on your ac count.” ¹⁴ When Abram en tered Egypt, the Egyp tians saw that the wom an was very beau ti ful. ¹⁵ Pha-raoh’s o� i cials saw her and praised her to Pha raoh, so the wom an was tak en to Pha-raoh’s house hold. ¹⁶ He treat ed Abram well be cause of her, and Abram ac quired flocks and herds, male and fe male don keys, male and fe male slaves, and cam els.

a 12:3 Gn 27:29; Nm 24:9

b Gn 18:18; 26:4; 28:14; Ac 3:25; Gl 3:8

c 12:4 Gn 11:27,31d 12:6 Gn 35:4; Dt 11:30; Heb 11:9

e 12:7 Gn 13:15; Ex 33:1; Ps 105:9-12; Ac 7:5; Gl 3:16

f 12:8 Gn 4:26; 21:33g 12:10 Gn 26:1; 43:1h 12:12 Gn 20:1-18; 26:6-11

A 12:3 Lit clans B 12:3 Or will find blessing C 12:3 Or will bless themselves by you

from (1) his land, (2) his relatives, and (3) his father’s house, (4) to a land chosen by God. Obedience to God o�en means leaving one thing in order to receive something else even better. Saying I will five times, God unilater-ally promised Abram progeny, prominence, and protection.12:4 Having migrated with his father’s household from Ur (11:31), Abram stayed an uncertain amount of time in Haran. Since Terah lived 145 years a�er the birth of Abram (11:26,32) and Abram was seventy-five years old when he le� Haran, Abram literal-ly fulfilled the command to leave his father’s house (v. 1). It later becomes clear that, at this point, Abram did not fully understand God’s commands and promises. In matters of faith, understanding o�en follows obedience.12:5 Abram was apparently his nephew Lot’s protector since Lot’s father had died in Ur (11:28). The group’s journey to Canaan was about 450 miles.12:6 Shechem is in north central Israel on the slope of Mount Ebal. Abram’s grandson Jacob would live for a time in this region as well (33:18-19). Later, Abram’s great grandson Joseph would be buried there (Jos 24:32). The Ca-naanites were a distinct cultural group (Gn 15:21), but the term Ca-naanite is also an umbrella term for many di�erent people groups who were living in the region, in-cluding the Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites.12:7 This is the first of three times Scripture indicates that the Lord physically appeared to Abram (cp. 17:1; 18:1). The Lord’s prom-ise to give the land of Canaan to Abram’s offspring is the single

most repeated a�irmation in the Torah. At least thirty-seven references are made to it in the books of Moses. The altar Abram built at Shechem is the first of four he is said to have built; others were set up between Bethel and Ai (v. 8), at Hebron (13:18), and at Mt. Moriah (22:9).12:8 As a shepherd, Abram frequently moved to new locations to provide food for his an-imals. Bethel, modern Beitin, was about twenty miles south of Shechem. This altar is the second of the four that Abram built in the land of Canaan (v. 7). When Abram called on the name of the LORD here, he identified himself as a true member of the godly line of Seth (4:26). This is the first of three occasions on which Abram is said to do this (13:4; 21:3).12:9 The Negev is the semidesert region west and south of the Dead Sea. About fi�y miles south of Bethel, this area has been inhabited by nomads since ancient times.

12:10 The only river that flowed year-round in Israel was the Jordan, and it was completely below sea level (minus 686 �. at its highest point, and minus 1,300 at its lowest). Canaan relied heavily on rainfall for its drinking water and crops. When there was no rain there was a famine. To avoid the famine, Abram went down to Egypt, the location with the best wa-ter supply. This meant abandoning the land God had promised to his descendants.12:11 Even though Sarai was at least sixty-five years old at this time (Sarai was ten years younger than Abram [17:17], and he was at least seventy-five [v. 4]), she was still consid-ered beautiful. Her desirability was due in part to the fact that she was the most powerful woman in a wealthy clan.12:12-13 By telling his wife to say that she was his sister, Abram was technically asking her to be truthful since Sarai was his half sister (20:12).

12:14-15 Since Abram’s group had many people and animals, they had to be given special per-mission to live and trade in Egypt. Important economic and political contracts in the ancient world were sometimes finalized by the weaker party giving a woman to the leader of the stronger party. The woman would then become part of the leader’s harem (this probably explains why Solomon had seven hundred wives, 1Kg 11:3). Sarai was the most desir-able woman in Abram’s group, so when Pharaoh’s o icials . . . praised her to Pharaoh, she was taken to Pharaoh’s harem.12:16 Perhaps because of gifts from Pharaoh, perhaps because of favorable business deals, Abram acquired much wealth.

zera‘Hebrew pronunciation [ZEH ra]CSB translation seed, ospringUses in Genesis 59Uses in the OT 229Focus passage Genesis 12:7

Zera‘ appears 15 times with related zara‘ (sow; Ex 23:10). Zera‘ means seed (Nm 24:7), seedtime (Gn 8:22), crop (Dt 22:9), or grain (Is 23:3). Zera‘ indicates human or animal seed (Jr 31:27), semen (Lv 22:4), or ospring (Gn 3:15; 46:6). It signifies child (Gn 4:25) or son (1Sm 1:11), descendants (Ps 18:50), heirs (2Kg 11:1), family (1Kg 11:14), a nation’s kindred (Est 10:3), and people (Is 61:9). It connotes brood (Is 1:4), line or bloodline (Gn 19:32), lin-eage (Nm 16:40), race (Is 57:4), or ancestral families (Ezr 2:59). Zera’ implies fertile (Ezk 17:5). Zara‘ (56x) also denotes sowed seed (Gn 26:12), plant, become pregnant (Lv 12:2), conceive (Nm 5:28), and have ospring (Nah 1:14). It functions figuratively (Hs 8:7). Participles with zera‘ indicate seed-bearing (Gn 1:12,29). Zerua‘ (3x) is sowing, what is sown, or vegetables (Dn 1:12).

28GENESIS 12:4

01_Gen.indd 28 28/10/16 12.39

37

¹⁷ But the L ORD struck Pha raoh and his house hold with se vere plagues be cause of Abram’s wife Sa rai. a ¹⁸ So Pha raoh sent for Abram and said, “ What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘ She’s my sis ter,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go! ” ²⁰ Then Pha raoh gave his men or ders about him, and they sent him away with his wife and all he had.

ABRAM AND LOT SEPARATE

13 Abram went up from Egypt to the Ne-gev b — he, his wife, and all he had,

and Lot with him. ² Abram was very rich in

live stock, sil ver, and gold. ³ He went by stages from the Ne gev to Beth el, to the place be-tween Beth el and Ai where his tent had for-mer ly been, ⁴ to the site where he had built the al tar. And Abram called on the name of the L ORD there. c

⁵ Now Lot, who was trav el ing with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. ⁶ But the land was un able to sup port them as long as they stayed to geth er, for they had so many pos ses-sions that they could not stay to geth er, d ⁷ and there was quar rel ing be tween the herds men of Abram’s live stock and the herds men of Lot’s live stock. e ( At that time the Ca naan ites and the Per iz zites were liv ing in the land.) f

a 12:17 Gn 20:18; 1Ch 16:21; Ps 105:14

b 13:1 Gn 12:9c 13:4 Gn 12:7,8d 13:6 Gn 36:7e 13:7 Gn 26:20f Gn 12:6; 15:20-21

Abram would later use one of the female slaves in his group to produce a son (16:1-4,15).12:17 If Abram’s wife Sarai remained in Egypt as part of Pharaoh’s harem, then God’s plan to provide Abram with an heir through her would never be fulfilled. To restore Sarai to Abram and bring the founders of the Israelite nation out of Egypt and back to the promised land, the LORD struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues. This act foreshadowed what God would do in Moses’s day to bring the Israelites out of Egypt again (Ex 12:29), to take them to the promised land.12:18 Pharaoh connected the plagues with Sarai’s entrance into his harem. An investi-

gation revealed that he had been tricked into marrying a woman who was the wife of an-other man.12:19-20 Even as Pharaoh gave . . . orders and sent Abram, the first Israelite, away and all he had, so a later Pharaoh would order the Israelites in Moses’s day to leave Egypt (Ex 12:31-32) with all their belongings.13:1 Having been forced to go out from Egypt, Abram returned to the Negev, the last place he had lived in the promised land (12:9) be-fore his departure to Africa.13:2-3 Abram moved northward to Bethel, an area of Canaan with greater rainfall—and thus more vegetation—than the Negev. This move was probably necessary in order to

feed the large flocks of Abram and his neph-ew Lot.13:4 Abram’s physical return to the place where God first spoke to him in the promised land was paralleled by a spiritual recommit-ment of his life to God. For the first time since he le� Canaan for Egypt, Abram called on the name of the LORD.13:5-6 Especially during the dry summer months, the land around Bethel and Ai was too dry for such a large number of flocks and people. To remain in the area, Abram and Lot would have to separate.13:7 With limited natural resources, quarrel-ing between Abram’s and Lot’s . . . herdsmen was inevitable.

29 GENESIS 13:7

Paintings from the tomb of Knumhotep found in the noblemen cemetery of Beni-Hasan, a village on the east bank of the Nile River about 130 miles south of Cairo. The paintings date from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (ca 1099 BC) and show a group of 37 Asiatics as they enter Egypt. This painting provides us with an idea of how Abraham might have dressed.

01_Gen.indd 29 28/10/16 12.39

01_Gen.indd 30 28/10/16 12.39

39

Philippians is Paul’s most warmly personal letter. A� er initial di iculties in the city of Philippi (Acts 16), a strong bond developed between Paul and the converts there. Paul wrote to thank the church for a gi� it had recently sent him in prison and to inform them of his circumstances.

Philippi’s acropolis seen from the hill where Cassius’s forces camped in 42 BC. The Battle at Philippi was one of the strategic engagements between Julius Caesar’s assassins, Brutus and Cassius, and his avengers, Mark Antony and Octavius. The victory of the latter forces was a critical step toward Octavius becoming Caesar Augustus (Lk 2:1).

INTRODUCTION TOPHILIPPIANS

50_Phil.indd 1889 28/10/16 12.40

40

INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPIANS 1890

CIRCUMSTANCES OF WRITINGauthor: Paul the apostle wrote this short letter, a fact that no scholar seriously questions.

background: The traditional date for the writing of Phi-lippians is during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment (AD 60–62); few have challenged this conclusion.

Paul planted the church at Philippi during his second missionary journey (AD 50) in response to his “Mace-donian vision” (Ac 16:9-10). This was the first church in Europe (Ac 16).

The text of this letter from Paul suggests several char-acteristics of the church at Philippi. First, Gentiles pre-dominated. Few Jews lived in Philippi, and, apparently, the church had few. Second, women had a significant role (Ac 16:11-15; Php 4:1-2). Third, the church was gen-erous. Fourth, they remained deeply loyal to Paul.

Philippi, the ancient city of Krenides, had a military significance. It was the capital of Alexander the Great, who renamed it for his father Philip of Macedon, and it became the capital of the Greek Empire (332 BC). The Romans conquered Greece, and in the civil war a�er Jul-ius Caesar’s death (44 BC), Antony and Octavius repop-ulated Philippi by allowing the defeated armies (Brutus and Cassius) to settle there (eight hundred miles from Rome). They declared the city a Roman colony. It flour-ished, proud of its history and entrenched in Roman political and social life. In his epistle to the Philippians, Paul alludes to military and political structures as meta-phors for the church.

Paul thanked the church for their financial support (4:10-20). He also addressed disunity and the threat of heresy. Disunity threatened the church, spawned by personal conflicts (4:2) and disagreements over the-ology (3:1-16). The heresy came from radical Jewish teachers. Paul addressed both issues personally and warmly.

The church at Philippi sent Epaphroditus to help Paul in Rome. While there he became ill (2:25-28). The church learned of Epaphroditus’s illness, and Paul wished to ease their concern for him. Some people possibly blamed Epaphroditus for failing his commission, but Paul com-

mended him and sent him home. Perhaps Epaph ro- ditus carried this letter with him.

MESSAGE AND PURPOSEOne purpose of this letter was for Paul to explain his situa-tion at Rome (1:12-26). Although he was concerned about the divided Christian community at Rome, his outlook was strengthened by the knowledge that Christ was being magnified. Paul’s theology of life formed the basis of his optimism. Whether he lived or died, whether he contin-ued his service to others or went to be in Christ’s presence, or whether he was appreciated or not, he wanted Christ to be glorified. Within this explanation are several messages.

unity: Paul exhorted the church to unity (1:27–2:18). Two factors influenced him. The church at Rome was divided, and he lived with a daily reminder of the e¡ects of dis-unity. Further, similar disunity threatened the Philippian church as two prominent women di¡ered with each oth-er. Selfishness lay at the heart of the problems at Rome and Philippi. Paul reminded the believers of the humili-ty of Jesus. If they would allow the outlook of Christ to guide their lives, harmony would be restored. The hymn to Christ (2:5-11) is pivotal to the epistle.

Christian unity results when individuals develop the mind of Christ. In more di¡icult situations, the church collectively solved problems through the involvement of its leadership (4:2-3). Harmony, joy, and peace char-acterize the church that functions as it should.

freedom from legalism: Paul warned the church to be-ware of Jewish legalists (3:2-21). Legalistic Jewish teach-ers threatened to destroy the vitality of the congregation by calling it to a preoccupation with external religious matters. Paul countered the legalists with a forceful teaching about justification by faith. He chose to express his theology through his personal experience. He had per-sonal experience with their message and found it lacking.

salvation: Salvation was provided by Christ, who became obedient to death (2:6-8). It was proclaimed by a host of preachers who were anxious to advance the gospel. It

500–31 BC 31 BC–AD 49

Settlers from Thasos occupy what would later be called Philippi and named it Krenides. 500

Philip II of Macedon invests in the development of the area and so the city was named in his honor. 358

The Romans win an overwhelming victory over the Macedonians at the battle of Pydna, a�er which Philippi came under Roman control. 168

The Battle of Philippi, a strategic turning point in Roman history, is fought between the army of Cassius and Brutus against that of Octavius and Mark Antony. 42

A decade later Octavius (Augustus) prevails against Mark Antony in the Battle of Actium, a�er which Philippi became a colony where veterans of the Roman civil war were settled and enjoyed the privileges of those who lived in Rome. 31 BC

Jesus’s trials, death, resurrection Nisan 14–16 or April 3–5, AD 33

Pentecost AD 33Saul’s conversion on the Damascus Road October AD 34Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark make first missionary

journey. AD 47–49Paul and Silas begin second missionary journey overland

through Cilicia to Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch. AD 49

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INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPIANS1891

was promoted through varying circumstances of life—both good and bad—so that the lives of believers became powerful witnesses. Finally, salvation would transform Christians and churches into models of spiritual life.

stewardship: Paul thanked the Philippian believers for their financial support. The church had sent money and a trusted servant, Epaphroditus, to care for Paul. Their gen-erosity encouraged Paul at a time of personal need, and he took the opportunity to express the rewards of giving and to teach Christian living.

The church at Philippi had reached a maturity re-garding material possessions. It knew how to give out of poverty. It knew the value of supporting the gospel and those who proclaim it, and it knew that God could provide for its needs as well. Paul also demonstrated his attitude toward material things. He could maintain spir-itual equilibrium in the midst of fluctuating financial cir-cumstances. Christ was his life, and Christ’s provisions were all he needed. In everything, Paul’s joy was that Christ was glorified in him.

imitation: The epistle abounds with Christian models for imitation. Most obviously, the church was to imitate Jesus, but other genuine Christians also merited appre-ciation. Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus embodied the selflessness that God desires in his people.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE BIBLEPaul’s letter to the Philippians teaches us much about genuine Christianity. While most of its themes may be

found elsewhere in Scripture, it is within this letter that we can see how those themes and messages impact life. Within the NT, Philippians contributes to our under-standing of Christian commitment and what it means to be Christlike.

STRUCTUREPhilippians can be divided into four primary sections. Paul had definite concerns that he wanted to express, and he also wrote to warn about false teachers who threatened the church. Many of Paul’s letters can be divided into theological and practical sections, but Phi-lippians does not follow that pattern. Paul’s theological instruction is woven throughout the fabric of a highly personal letter.

OUTLINE I. Salutation (1:1-2) II. Explanation of Paul’s Concerns (1:3–2:30) A. Paul’s thanksgiving and prayer (1:3-11) B. Paul’s joy in the progress of the gospel

(1:12-26) C. Exhortation to Christlike character

(1:27–2:18) D. Paul’s future plans (2:19-30) III. Exhortations to Christian Living (3:1–4:9) A. Exhortations to avoid false teachers (3:1-21) B. Miscellaneous exhortations (4:1-9) IV. Expression of Thanks and Conclusion (4:10-23) A. Repeated thanks (4:10-20) B. Greetings and benediction (4:21-23)

AD 49–52 AD 54–62

Paul, Silas, and Timothy continue through North Galatia to Troas. 49

Paul and his companions arrive in Philippi and plant the first Christian church in Europe. 50

Paul’s ministry in the Macedonia cities of Thessalonica and Berea 50

Paul plants the church at Corinth. 50–51Paul concludes second missionary journey, returning to

Antioch of Syria. 52

Paul’s third missionary journey takes him to Ephesus. 54Paul’s extended ministry in Ephesus 54–56Paul likely revisits Philippi collecting funds for the church at

Jerusalem. 57Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome 60–62Paul writes his letter to the church

at Philippi. 62

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GREETING

1 Paul a and Tim o thy, b ser vants of Christ Jesus: To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in

Phi lip pi, c in clud ing the over seers d and dea-cons. e

² Grace to you and peace from God our Fa-ther and the Lord Jesus Christ.

THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER³ I give thanks to my God for ev ery re mem-brance of you, A ⁴ al ways pray ing with joy for all of you in my ev ery prayer, ⁵ be cause of your part ner ship in the gos pel from the first day f un til now. g ⁶ I am sure of this, that he who start ed a good work h in you B will car-ry it on to com ple tion i un til the day of Christ Jesus. ⁷ In deed, it is right j for me to think this way about all of you, be cause I have you in my heart, C and you are all part ners with me in grace, both in my im pris on ment k and in the de fense l and con fir ma tion of the gos-pel. ⁸ For God is my wit ness, m how deep ly I miss all of you n with the a ec tion of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And I pray this: that your love o will keep on grow ing p in knowl edge and ev ery kind of dis cern ment, q ¹⁰ so that you may ap-prove the things that are su pe ri or r and may

be pure s and blame less t in the day of Christ, u ¹¹ filled with the fruit v of righ teous ness w that comes through Jesus Christ to the glo ry x and praise of God.

ADVANCE OF THE GOSPEL¹² Now I want you to know, broth ers and sis-ters, that what has hap pened to me has ac-tu al ly ad vanced the gos pel, y ¹³ so that it has be come known through out the whole im pe ri al guard, and to ev ery one else, that my im pris on-ment is be cause I am in Christ. ¹⁴ Most of the broth ers have gained con fi dence in the Lord from my im pris on ment and dare even more to speak the word D,z fear less ly. ¹⁵ To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and ri val ry, aa but oth ers out of good will. ¹⁶ These preach out of love, ab know ing that I am ap point ed for the de fense of the gos pel; ¹⁷ the oth ers pro claim Christ out of selfi sh am bi tion, ac not sin cere-ly, think ing that they will cause me trou ble in my im pris on ment. ¹⁸ What does it mat ter? Only that in ev ery way, wheth er from false mo tives ad or true, Christ is pro claimed, and in this I re joice. Yes, and I will con tin ue to re joice ¹⁹ be cause I know this will lead to my sal va-tion E,ae through your prayers and help from

A 1:3 Or for your every remembrance of me B 1:6 Or work among you C 1:7 Or because you have me in your heart D 1:14 Other mss add of God E 1:19 Or vindication

1:1a Timothy was with Paul and Silas when they planted the church at Philippi (2:19-24; Ac 16). Servants expresses humility.1:1b Saints are believers. Overseers and deacons (lit “servants”) indicate an emerging church structure that became full-blown in later years. On qualifications for overseers, see 1Tm 3:1-7; Ti 1:5-9; for deacons, see 1Tm 3:8-13.1:2 Grace and peace, jointly from God and Jesus Christ, attest to the deity and equality of both.1:3-4 When a church embraced the Lord and the gospel message as enthusiastically as the Philippians did, it was cause for great thanks-giving, even if there was cause for concern over unity.1:5 Partnership (lit “fellowship”) expresses participation, including giving (4:10-20) and sending Epaphroditus (2:25). From the first day shows Paul’s continued joy in these be-lievers, in spite of his initial di�iculty in the city of Philippi (Ac 16).1:6-8 Paul’s confidence in prayer resulted from the principle that God finishes what he begins, and the fact that the Philippi-ans demonstrated their Christian charac-ter by joining in the support of the gospel work. 1:9-10 Paul prayed two petitions: a growing love (v. 9) and complete character (v. 10). Love (Gk agape-) is selfless action for another person. Knowledge and discernment togeth-er foster mature love. “Knowledge” is both intellectual and experiential. “Discernment”

occurs only here in the NT and connotes mor-al sensitivity. Love enriched by knowledge and moral discernment leads believers to experience what really matters. The word pure emphasizes personal integrity; blame-less means good character that survives all accusations.1:11 The phrase filled with the fruit of righ-teousness expresses how a person attains purity and blamelessness. Righteousness is the character of those whom God declares righteous.1:12 Paul’s attitude was that all that had hap-pened to him served to promote the gospel. Advancement meant to blaze a trail (e.g., for an army). Paul’s di�icult circumstances opened new opportunities for gospel wit-ness.1:13 The first opportunity (see v. 12 and note) for gospel witness involved the im-perial guard, an elite military force charged with protecting the Roman emperor and his concerns. As the soldiers rotated shi�s, each heard Paul’s message. Paul’s imprisonment was for Christ (lit “a prisoner of Christ”). The guard knew that Paul’s commitment to Christ had led to his arrest and imprison-ment.1:14-17 The second opportunity for gospel witness involved the church itself. Respond-ing to Paul’s imprisonment, Christians divid-ed into those who supported him and those who opposed him. Paul’s imprisonment spawned renewed enthusiasm for preaching in both groups, but the group that opposed

him preached the gospel out of envy and rivalry. They hoped to cause Paul greater di�iculty, perhaps an unfavorable trial ver-dict. Their motivation was selfish ambition, intending to cause . . . trouble by social tur-moil. Paul does not say what drove the rivalry, but apparently they felt Christianity ought to have a di�erent spokesperson than Paul. The group that supported Paul was motivated by good will and love. They realized Paul was appointed (lit “set”) by God for defending the gospel, especially to Gentiles. Neither of these groups is identified. Both seem to have held correct doctrine and proclaimed Christ, yet their disparate treatment of Paul indicates that even “correct” believers can behave wrongly.1:18 Paul accepted the message and work of both groups. Trusting God’s sovereignty, he refused to condemn improper motivations as long as the end result was Christ . . . pro-claimed.1:19 Paul remained optimistic. Salvation may recall Job’s attitude (Jb 13:13-18). Paul expected exoneration because Christianity was not illegal throughout the Roman Em-pire at this time. Paul hoped for prayers, the “human” side, and help, divine assistance. “Prayers” implies intense intercession. God answers prayers with help, either some-thing the Holy Spirit provides (a resource), or the presence of the Holy Spirit (the “Com-forter”). The grammar of this verse joins “prayers” and “help,” indicating Paul’s de-pendence on both working together.

a 1:1 Ac 13:9b Ac 16:1; 1Tm 1:2c Ac 16:12-40; 20:3-6; 1Th 2:2

d Ac 20:28; Ti 1:7e 1Co 3:5f 1:5 Ac 16:12-40g 1Co 9:15-18; 2Co 11:7-9; Php 4:10,16,18

h 1:6 2Co 9:8; Gl 3:10i 2Co 7:1j 1:7 Rm 1:17k Php 1:13-14,17-20,25,30; 2:17,24; 4:22

l Ac 22:1m 1:8 Rm 1:9n 1Th 3:6o 1:9 1Co 13:1p 1Co 15:58q Eph 5:17r 1:9-10 Rm 12:2s 1:10 2Pt 3:1t Ac 24:16; 1Co 10:32u Php 1:6,15v 1:11 Mt 3:8; Gl 5:22w Rm 1:17x Lk 9:32; Jn 17:24; 2Co 3:18; 2Pt 3:18

y 1:12 Mk 13:9; Ac 21–26

z 1:14 Lk 8:21; Jn 18:32; Ac 17:11; Heb 4:12

aa 1:15 Rm 1:29; Ti 3:9ab 1:16 1Co 13:1ac 1:17 Rm 2:8ad 1:18 1Th 2:5ae 1:19 Jb 13:16-18

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43

the Spir it a of Jesus Christ. b ²⁰ My ea ger ex pec-ta tion and hope c is that I will not be ashamed about any thing, but that now as al ways, with all cour age, Christ will be high ly hon ored in my body, wheth er by life d or by death. e

LIVING IS CHRIST²¹ For me, to live is Christ f and to die is gain. g ²² Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruit-ful h work i for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. ²³ I am torn be tween the two. I long to de part and be with Christ j — which is far bet ter k — ²⁴ but to re main in the flesh is more nec es sary for your sake. ²⁵ Since I am per suad ed of this, I know that I will re main and con tin ue with all of you for your pro-gress and joy in the faith, l ²⁶ so that, be cause of my com ing to you again, your boast ing m in Christ Jesus n may abound.

²⁷ Just one thing: As cit i zens of heav en, live your life o wor thy of the gos pel of Christ. Then, wheth er I come and see you or am ab sent, I will hear about you that you are stand ing firm p in one q spir it, in one ac cord, A con tend ing to-geth er for the faith r of the gos pel, ²⁸ not be ing

fright ened in any way by your op po nents. s This is a sign of de struc tion for them, t but of your sal va tion u — and this is from God. ²⁹ For it has been grant ed to you on Christ’s be half not only to be lieve v in him, but also to su� er for him, ³⁰ since you are en gaged in the same strug gle that you saw I had and now hear that I have.

CHRISTIAN HUMILITY

2 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any con so la tion of love, w if any

fel low ship with the Spir it, x if any a� ec tion and mer cy, y ² make my joy com plete by think ing the same way, z hav ing the same love, aa unit ed in spir it, in tent on one ab pur pose. ³ Do noth-ing out of selfi sh am bi tion ac or con ceit, ad but in hu mil i ty ae con sid er oth ers as more im por-tant af than your selves. ⁴ Ev ery one should look out not only for his own in ter ests, ag but also for the in ter ests of oth ers. ah

A 1:27 Lit soul

1:20 Ashamed implies cowering, running from battle, or embarrassment. Paul expect-ed that Christ would be highly honored in his body. The physical body symbolizes earthly life. On earth, if Christ is not glorified in the body, he is not glorified at all. Further, Paul hoped Christ would also be glorified in his death.1:21-24 To live is Christ restates the theme of v. 20. If he carried on living, every aspect of Paul’s life would continue to reveal Christ, which would make his life fruitful and worth-while. Likewise, his death would be gain since it would usher him into Christ’s presence. Paul felt torn between the two (lit “in a dilemma”), acknowledging the benefits of both outcomes. The phrase is more necessary for your sake expresses Paul’s servant heart. A selfish outlook would make Paul prefer glori-fication and reward (via death) over continued life and ministry, but his priority was that Christ be honored and glorified.1:25-26 Because Paul knew his work, even among the Philippi-ans, was unfinished, he was con-vinced that he would be released. He apparently planned a trip to Philippi following that release.1:27-28 Live your life (lit “con-duct yourselves as citizens”; cp. Ac 23:1) alludes to Philippi’s political history, reminding the church of its higher citizenship (in the kingdom of God). Paul’s primary concern, that you are standing firm in one spirit, re-

flected military pride. Roman armies stood ready for combat regardless of the enemy’s level of strength and preparedness or the dis-tracting enticements of culture. The church must manifest the same readiness. “One spir-it” expresses the believer’s unified attitude. One accord (lit “same soul”) means that believers share “life.” Together they prevent divisiveness like Paul witnessed at Rome (vv. 14-17). Standing firm involves contending together. “Contending” comes from athletics where teams contended for a prize (cp. 4:3). Harmony, not individualism, achieves God’s purposes. Standing also involves not being

frightened . . . by your opponents. Soldiers used “frightened” to describe horses that might easily be startled.1:29-30 Granted (lit “by grace”) indicates that God “graces” Christians to believe and su�er on Christ’s behalf. Both contribute to Christ’s glory.2:1-2 Four if statements in this verse form the basis of Paul’s appeal. These phrases express conditions that are assumed for the sake of argument. Both Paul and his readers will be inclined to believe the truth of these condi-tions. Make my joy complete, not “make Paul happy,” reminded them that their steadfast-

ness completed God’s call on his life. Four actions on the Phi-lippians’ part explain what Paul meant. Two verbs translate the Greek word phroneō—thinking and being intent on. Beyond mere “thinking,” this addresses values. The Philippians were to value the same way and with one purpose. Between these two, Paul included shared love and spirit.2:3-4 Selfish ambition or con-ceit recalls the problem Paul condemned (1:15,17). Humility, the antidote for wrong attitudes, results in considering others as more important. Additionally, humility considers the interests of others. Proper relationships include the contrast “not only, but also.” Personal responsibili-ties demand consideration, but the concerns of others are equally important.

a 1:19 Gl 5:25b Ac 16:7; Rm 8:9; 1Pt 1:11

c 1:20 Ac 23:6; 1Th 1:3d 1Jn 5:12e Jn 8:51f 1:21 Rm 14:7-9; Gl 2:19-20; Php 1:11,15; Col 2:6–3:11

g Rm 8:38-39; Php 3:7h 1:22 Mt 3:8; Rm 1:13; Gl 5:22

i Mk 14:6; Gl 3:10; Jms 2:14-26

j 1:23 Rm 6:8; 2Co 4:14; 13:4-5; 1Th 4:14; 5:9-10

k Jn 12:26l 1:25 Mt 8:10; Ac 3:16; Rm 1:8; 1Co 2:5; Gl 2:16; 1Tm 1:2; Heb 4:2; Jd 3

m 1:26 1Co 15:58n Rm 16:7; Eph 2:6; 1Pt 5:14

o 1:27 Ac 23:1p 1Co 16:13; Gl 5:1; Eph 6:13-17; Php 4:1; 2Th 2:15

q Jn 11:52r 1Tm 3:9; 4:1,6; 5:8; 6:10,21

s 1:28 1Co 16:9t Mt 7:13; Rm 9:22u Ac 4:12; 2Co 7:10; Heb 5:9

v 1:29 Mk 11:24; Jn 3:16; Ac 10:43; Rm 10:9; 1Pt 1:8-10 w 2:1 Rm 5:8; 15:30; 2Th 2:16; 1Jn 3:16; 4:9-10,16 x 1Co 12:13; 2Co 13:13; Eph 4:3 y Col 3:12 z 2:2 Rm 12:16; 15:5; 2Co 13:11; Php 4:2 aa 2Th 1:3; 1Jn 3:16 ab Jn 11:52 ac 2:3 Rm 2:8 ad Gl 5:26 ae Col 3:12 af Rm 13:1; Php 3:8; 4:7; 1Pt 2:13 ag 2:4 Rm 15:1 ah Lv 19:18; Mk 10:45; 12:31; 1Co 10:24; 13:5; Php 2:21

euangelionGreek pronunciation [yoo ahn GEHL ee ahn]CSB translation gospelUses in Philippians 12Uses in the NT 76Focus passage Philippians 1:27

The Christian euangelion (gospel) is the universal good news of God’s saving grace through faith in Christ, and the message of his kingdom over which Jesus reigns. Jesus preached the good news of God’s coming kingdom (Mt 4:23), and substan-tiated his message by miracles (Mt 9:35). The gospel of the kingdom’s arrival will be preached to the world (Mk 13:10) and is worthy of sacrificial labor (Mk 8:35). Paul believed the gospel was an extension of OT promises, where it lay hidden in mystery form (Rm 1:1-3; 16:25-26). Paul’s gospel encompasses Jesus’s entire life: his incarnation, sacrificial death, burial, resurrection, post-resurrection appearances, and ascension (Rm 1:1-6; 1Co 15:1-8; Php 2:9). It is the Spirit-empowered message (1Th 1:5) by which God calls the elect (2Th 2:13-14) and reconciles people to himself (2Co 5:18-21). Men will one day be judged by it (Rm 2:16; 2Th 1:8).

1893 PHILIPPIANS 2:4

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